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It was the same scene again.
They were in a ballroom, attending a gala hosted by a prominent noble family. Positioned quietly in a dim corner of the hall, Cale Henituse stood alone. He held a flute of champagne. His fingers wrapped tightly around the stem as he watched the crowd flock towards the centre of the room.
Everyone was gathered around his younger fraternal twin brother, Roksu Henituse.
Cale watched the laughter and the eager nods of the surrounding nobles.
It was always the same scene.
He raised his glass and took a sharp gulp of the champagne. The alcohol burnt his throat as his eyes darkened.
In any gathering, Roksu Henituse inevitably became the centre of attention. He attracted people effortlessly, regardless of the venue or the crowd, moving through the high society of the kingdom as if he were a magnet.
And Cale Henituse hated it.
They were twins. They shared the same blood and the same birthday, yet the reception they received from the world was entirely different. The attention given to them was never equal.
Cale stared into his glass. A bitter thought crossed his mind.
Why could people not love him the same way they loved Roksu?
Was it because he was known only as a trashy, demanding young master, despite being the eldest heir, while his brother was praised as the wise, considerate, and perfect second son?
Cale tightened his grip on his glass. He could not understand why his twin always received the best parts of life, leaving him with only the second best.
'This is not fair at all,' Cale thought resentfully, his gaze remaining fixed on the smiling crowd surrounding his brother. 'The gods are not fair.'
– You're right. They aren't.
Cale stiffened. He turned around instantly, his eyes scanning the immediate area. He had definitely heard a voice speaking to him. But the corner of the ballroom remained empty. There was nobody near him.
He frowned, looking down at his half-empty glass.
Did he hear it wrong?
Was the alcohol affecting him already?
– The gods are never fair. Since ancient times.
There was the voice again.
This time, Cale heard it clearly. It was spoken directly to his mind, separate from the noise of the party and the people in the hall.
– If you're interested, go find the temple outside the last town.
That was the last Cale heard of the mysterious voice before it disappeared, leaving him alone in the corner of the ballroom. The noise of the party rushed back to fill the silence.
Cale Henituse walked through the dense woods. His boots crunched against the damp leaves as he made his way towards an abandoned temple bordering the mountains.
'Old folks said there's an ancient god who can grant a wish!'
He had overheard the mansion maids gossiping about an ancient god in the past. At the time, he had shrugged it off and never paid any real attention to the rumours. He had never believed in myths or urban legends.
An ancient god who can grant any wish?
If such a being existed, wouldn't the world already be at peace?
Yet, the voice that had spoken to him in the ballroom was real.
That voice was the sole reason he was here today. He needed to know whether the mysterious entity speaking into his head had any connection to this wish-granting ancient god.
He finally arrived in front of the building. The temple was small, neglected, and in very poor condition, with vines creeping up the cracked stone walls.
Cale pushed the heavy wooden doors open. Only darkness greeted him. There was nothing there. He stepped inside and waited.
He did not know exactly what he was waiting for, but he remained in the centre of the dust-covered floor.
Minutes passed.
The minutes slowly turned into an hour.
After a full hour of sitting in the silence of the temple, Cale let out a bitter laugh.
"Ha! I knew it!" he said aloud, his voice echoing off the walls. "God doesn't exist!"
He turned back towards the entrance, shaking his head at his own desperation. "Why did I even believe such a foolish—"
Right as the words left his mouth, a sudden gust of wind rushed past him. Cale froze as the old candles scattered around the temple suddenly flickered to life, lit by an unknown source. The sudden burst of light shocked him. His heart hammered against his ribs as the shadows danced wildly inside the temple.
It took him several moments to regain his composure. Once Cale was calm enough to utter a word, he spoke into the dim space.
"...W– Who are you?"
– I'm the one people called Despair in the past.
The voice echoed through the temple. It was the exact same voice Cale had heard in the ballroom that night.
Cale swallowed hard, gripping his coat tightly. "...Are you the god who can grant any wish?"
The voice gave a low chuckle.
– Are you here to get your wish granted?
The night grew long.
Cale Henituse remained in the abandoned temple for hours, conversing with the darkness, before he finally turned to head home as dawn approached.
"Young Master, it is time to get up."
Cale heard his butler calling for him. He shifted beneath the blankets and rubbed his eyes, blinking against the light streaming through the windows. Judging by the angle of the sun, it was already noon. He had sneaked back into the mansion at dawn last night and gone straight to sleep.
"Is everyone already at the dining table?" Cale asked, his voice rough from sleep as he sat up.
"The Count and the Countess are waiting for you at the table, Young Master," the butler answered, bowing respectfully by the bedside.
Cale swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "My brother?"
There was a slight pause before the butler spoke again. "Pardon, Young Master?"
Cale frowned at the unusual hesitation. "Is my younger brother at home?"
This time, the butler took a long time to respond to the question. The usual benign smile faltered into a look of quiet confusion.
"...Young Master does not have any younger siblings," the butler finally said.
Cale Henituse walked slowly through the corridors of the mansion. His footsteps echoed in the quiet halls.
When he woke up today, he found out he was the only child of Count Deruth Henituse. He did not have any siblings. The Count did not have any other children. Roksu Henituse simply did not exist.
It was as if the 21 years of life he had led up until this morning were nothing more than a dream, and this new reality was the true reality. He was now the sole heir to the Henituse Estate. There was no superior younger sibling threatening his inheritance, no shadow to cast him into insignificance.
– I can make Roksu Henituse disappear from this world.
The mysterious god had spoken those words last night.
Cale had not believed it at the time, dismissing it as a cruel trick of his mind or a hollow promise. But when he opened his eyes today, everything the entity had promised had become reality. Roksu really did not exist in this world.
Cale stopped at the balustrade, overlooking the grand main hall below.
Finally, he could become the true young master in this family.
Several months passed.
Cale Henituse had grown accustomed to being the only son in the family. Everyone followed his orders exactly as expected, and the constant, suffocating comparisons to someone else had finally ceased. His parents paid attention only to him. The visitors who came to the mansion looked only at him.
He had become the real, sole heir apparent of the Henituse Estate, a position that could no longer be challenged or questioned by anyone.
Yet—
Somehow, all the attention and affection he received now felt hollow. It looked superficial.
People still flocked to him at gatherings, nodding eagerly at his words and laughing at his remarks, but he felt no genuine warmth behind their expressions. Everyone spoke of him with high regard as the sole heir of the House of Henituse, but the phrase felt like nothing more than an empty title.
He was constantly unsettled by a persistent ache, feeling as if he were missing and losing something vital.
But no matter how much he pondered it whilst looking out over the vast estate, he could not figure out what it was.
It was a grand ball hosted by Duke Fredo Von Ejellan in his expansive mansion.
The Henituse Family had received an invitation, and Cale attended the event alongside the Count and the Countess.
During the reception, his parents guided him over to be introduced to a group of people from a higher-ranking noble house: the Duke Barrow Family.
"This is our son, also named Cale," Duke Barrow said, introducing his only child. "He has reached marriageable age."
The underlying intention behind the introduction was immediately clear. They were discussing a marriage alliance.
Countess Henituse smiled. "Oh my, if they marry, what should they call each other?"
"Let us leave that matter for the young birds to decide," Duchess Barrow replied with a soft laugh.
The adults shared a polite chuckle before withdrawing from the immediate area, giving the two young people enough space to get to know each other better.
Cale Henituse looked at the young man standing in front of him.
Cale Barrow was a handsome fellow, though aloof. He kept his distance from the crowd and did not talk much to the other guests.
Yet, looking at him, Cale Henituse recalled a vivid memory from his past life. He had seen this exact man show a soft side he never displayed to anyone else. He remembered how gently Cale Barrow had treated Roksu, attending to his younger twin brother as if he were made of precious glass.
He remembered how deeply he had envied his brother for that exclusive devotion.
'This match is not bad,' Cale Henituse told himself, pulling his mind back to the present.
Cale Barrow was a perfectly suitable candidate for a husband. He was the sole heir to the Barrow Dukedom, his position was entirely stable, he was immensely wealthy, and he was not a womaniser. In terms of status and prospects, he did not lose to the Crown Prince of the kingdom.
Whatever fortune Roksu had held in their past life, Cale Henituse determined that he would get it in this life too.
Cale Henituse cleared his throat, coughing lightly to break the silence. "So..."
But his attempt at conversation was cut cold instantly by the other man.
"Are you happy, now that the twin brother you hated so much doesn't exist anywhere in this universe?"
Cale Henituse froze. The words shocked him so greatly that his hand trembled against his glass. He stared at the Young Master of Barrow Dukedom, his breath catching in his throat.
"Are you happy, now that your twin brother can't overshadow you anymore?" Cale Barrow continued, stepping closer. He was glaring down at Cale Henituse with absolute hatred. His expression completely stripped of his usual aloof indifference.
'How–'
"You thought I would forget my Roksu?" Cale Barrow hissed, his voice low but laced with venom.
'How did he–'
"I will never agree to marry you," Cale Barrow said flatly.
'How could he–'
"Even if I ended up marrying you, I will only make your life miserable after the marriage."
Cale Barrow had remembered the original timeline.
The young man stepped back slightly. His eyes were cold as he emphasized each word.
"You can never be Roksu."
—
Cale Henituse fled into the back garden of Duke Fredo Von Ejellan's grand mansion. His chest heaved as he panted heavily. The cool night air hit his face, but it did nothing to calm the panic roaring in his ears.
A torrent of thoughts surged through his mind, dismantling the fragile reality he had built over the last few months.
For the first time since that night in the abandoned temple, he allowed himself to think deeply about the younger twin brother he had cut out of existence. The resentment that had fueled his wish back then was gone, replaced by a sudden terror.
'Where is my Roksu right now?'
His hands trembled as he pressed them against his face.
What was his brother doing right now?
Was he anywhere at all, or had he been erased completely into nothingness because of his own brother's petty jealousy?
Without him even realising it, tears slipped from the corners of his eyes. The realization hit him. He missed his younger twin brother. He did not want the empty titles, the superficial attention, or the stolen fiancé. He just wanted his brother.
Cale sank to his knees on the grass, burying his face in his hands as a broken sob escaped him.
"Roksu..." he whispered into the empty garden, his voice cracking with grief. "Please come back to me..."
– Well, if you're that worried about him...
The voice of the mysterious god suddenly spoke into the quiet of the garden. Cale flinched, his head snapping up as he looked around the dark shrubbery.
– I can show you what he's currently doing.
An orb suddenly materialised out of thin air, hovering directly in front of him. A light shone from within its translucent surface. The glow flickered for a moment, shifting and settling until it displayed the moving silhouette of someone.
– I will show you Roksu Henituse's current altered life.
The voice continued, smooth and unbothered by Cale's distress.
– The life he currently lives after you threw him away from this world.
Cale Henituse stared at the image. On the screen within the orb, he saw a scrawny young boy with pitch-black hair. The boy was standing at a kitchen sink that was too tall for him. His small hands scrubbed at a massive pile of dirty plates.
– He is known as Kim Rok Soo in that new world.
The boy was terribly thin and frail, his clothes hanging loosely off his small frame. He looked incredibly fragile. The boy could not be more than 12 years old. He was no longer 21, the age Cale currently was.
– He is much younger now. Still a boy.
The boy looked different from the time he was Roksu Henituse in this world. The noble features were gone. Yet, Cale could recognise his younger twin brother anywhere. The subtle movements and the quiet posture were unmistakable. This boy was indeed his Roksu.
But that was not the most important thing right now.
As the image shifted in the light of the orb, Cale's eyes caught sight of the boy's bare arms and neck. His body was covered in old and new bruises, dark purple and fading yellow against pale, malnourished skin.
Something inside Cale snapped.
A voice inside his head began screaming at him.
A horrifying realisation hit him with devastating certainty.
While he had been busy enjoying his status and complaining about superficial affection, his Roksu was living a miserable and abusive life in this new reality.
A new silhouette, an adult man, appeared on the orb screen. He strode over to the boy and shoved him hard from behind. The boy, Kim Rok Soo, fell onto the kitchen floor, hitting the cold tiles.
"Took you long enough to finish a simple job!" the man snapped, his voice audible through the orb. "No food for you tonight!"
The man then stormed off, leaving the boy abandoned on the floor.
"...No..." Cale muttered in shock as he stared at the image.
On the screen, the boy curled up silently on the floor, pulling his knees tightly toward his chest to protect himself from the cold.
"No... This can't be..." Cale gripped his own hair in disbelief as he watched.
The boy slowly brought his thin hand to touch his growling stomach.
"It's okay... I'm okay..." the boy, Kim Rok Soo, whispered. His voice was low, yet Cale heard every word. He watched as the poor boy gently patted his empty stomach, coaxing himself that he would manage to eat tomorrow and that he would survive this.
"I will find some food tomorrow... Please hold on until then, stomach..."
Cale's heart broke.
How had his Roksu, who had once lived in luxury as the son of a Count, ended up like this?
"No... NO!" Cale choked out, his voice fracturing as he stumbled backward.
"This wasn't what I wanted!" he yelled into the dark garden. "I never wanted Roksu to end up like this!"
He spun around on his heel, frantically clawing at the empty air around him. His fingers curled into claws, desperate to grab the invisible god by the throat and choke the life out of the entity.
"You—!" Cale roared in a blind rage. "You lied to me!"
– I didn't lie to anyone.
The voice chuckled, the sound dripping with cold amusement as it reverberated through the trees.
– You were the one who wished to erase your fraternal twin brother.
Cale brought his hands up to his face, his fingers pressing hard against his skin in absolute agony. "NO!"
– Naive, foolish human.
The voice spoke again, mocking his distress.
– What did you think would happen to people with their string of fate cut out?
There was a brief, heavy pause before the final verdict fell.
– They could only live a miserable life thereafter.
"NO! YOU'RE LYING!" Cale screamed, his body shaking violently.
– You brought this upon yourself.
You have no one to blame.
"NO! STOP TALKING!" Cale shrieked, pressing his palms over his ears to block out the voice, though it did nothing to quiet the words echoing directly inside his mind. "Roksu... Roksu!"
The mysterious god merely laughed at his frantic reactions.
– Wallow in despair...
– Despair does not come to seek you.
It is humans who wish for despair.
The laughter echoed one final time before fading away, leaving Cale Henituse collapsing onto the grass, wailing and crying like a madman in the garden.
.
.
.
.
.
Rumours quickly spread through the kingdom that the sole heir of Count Henituse was found in a completely deranged state in the back garden of the Von Ejellan mansion that night. When the guests and guards finally discovered him, he was weeping hysterically, calling out a name that nobody had ever heard before.
In the weeks that followed, the gossip filtered down from the noble manors into the bustling streets of the capital and the territories. The townspeople whispered amongst themselves over drinks and market stalls.
"Roksu? Who is that?"
"Never heard of the name before."
"Someone close to Young Master Cale, perhaps?"
"But nobody knows such a person."
"Aye. It is as if the person never existed at all."
.
.
.
.
.
In this life, it was not Cale Barrow who tainted Kim Rok Soo's soul.
Rather, it was his own elder twin brother, Cale Henituse, who had severed his tie to their world and forced an existence of unyielding misery upon him.
The bond of fate, once severed, shattered forever.
It could never be amended.