How shall I proceed?

  Claude gazed up at the twilight sky, its purples and deep oranges casting long shadows across the manicured lawns and cobblestone paths of West Genise's largest park. A faint breeze carried the scent of blooming lilies from the flowerbeds, mingling with the crispness of the evening air.

  He let out a long sigh and adjusted the cuffs of his tailored, dark black coat, its subtle gold embroidery catching the light of one of the park's light stone lanterns. Given his environment, so different from the dirty maze of East Genise, Claude had dressed the part, blending in among the nobles and their guards strolling through the park.

  Whenever he faced a complex problem or an unresolved dilemma, a walk often helped untangle the web of thoughts in his mind. He had now been circling the park for well over an hour.

  The park itself was a testament to West Genise's wealth, with sprawling groves of ancient trees standing proudly alongside ornate fountains that gleamed in the twilight. Several massive, gilded statues of highly regarded Adovorian monarchs stood through the park, the largest of which was the kingdom's founding Queen. She stood with one outstretched hand pointing toward the city skyline. Noble families wandered in pairs or small groups, their laughter and idle chatter punctuating the quiet hum of the surrounding city.

  Claude didn't wander about West Genise that often. It was too far removed from his base of operations, its polished elegance a world apart from the raw, unfiltered pulse of the city's underbelly in East Genise. His visits here were typically brief, aimed at meeting the nobles enmeshed in his intricate web of influence.

  But tonight was different.

  The recent insights he had gleaned about Luca Frey were far too monumental, reshaping everything he thought he knew about the state of affairs. Such revelations demanded a venue befitting their gravity—somewhere expansive and serene, where he could walk and arrange his thoughts without the noise and chaos of East Genise.

  Speaking with Sedna Ozeryn had been the final piece of the maddening puzzle. At last, he understood why Luca Frey was described as a treasure to be protected at all costs.

  Luca's ability to stave off imminent death, prolonging his grandmother's life and that of Adovoria's current king, was extraordinary. This power made him immensely invaluable to Claude Noire.

  However, the Coward's account of the attack at the Town of Ascot provided troubling insights into who it was that was after Luca Frey's life.

  Claude Noire's tattoos described several immensely dangerous individuals to be wary of. Prince Chase Daylan was one such individual, but that didn't stop Claude from going on the offensive against that lunatic warlock. Such was the case with all others, and Claude faced them head-on, never letting fear dictate his actions.

  All except for one entity.

  The architects of the Kobar Empire's meteoric rise, their conquests surpassing even the legendary campaigns of Queen Yadana Daylan. Claude's tattoos didn't merely caution him against interfering with them—they commanded him not to stand in their way at all costs. That emphasis was only on par with the directives regarding Luca Frey's protection.

  And now, those commands stood in stark opposition.

  The Coward had described the group the Spiders fought against in the Town of Ascot and the tenacity with which the attackers fought, seemingly feeling no pain and continuing to charge forward despite losing limbs and more. He described their swollen, purple veins, bloodshot eyes, and inhuman lack of hesitation.

  Claude recognized them immediately. They were the undead soldiers of the Blood and Bones Brigade.

  The leader of this dangerous group was Zuni Keita, a man who had risen from the grave—a corruption to the natural flow of life and death. Moreover, he was an Awakened individual, capable of remembering each loop. He was one of the key architects behind the Kobar Empire's expansion and whom Claude's tattoos warned about getting on the wrong side of.

  Attacking Luca Frey wasn't unusual; Zuni Keita appeared to be tasked with testing the identified Awakened or Aware individuals of this world. The purpose was twofold—to understand the capabilities and limits of each and hammer down anyone that might oppose them.

  Claude's past iteration was similarly attacked, and he had barely survived long enough to warm his next self. His next iteration attempted to learn more about the organization, but to no avail, leaving just a stern warning to avoid opposing them in the future. Ultimately, it appeared Claude had found a symbiotic relationship with the reality of the Kobar Empire's expansion, finding profit where possible while cutting off his own tail to avoid elimination.

  That same group was why he avoided getting involved with Grandov, the summoned hero who attempted to prevail in the face of the Kobar Empre's overwhelming strength. There was little to no benefit to help the losing side in an inevitable defeat that repeated several dozen times.

  Claude's fingers brushed over his arm, where the tattoos with conflicting agendas lay hidden beneath his sleeve.

  The question is, which tattoo's instructions do I follow?

  The logical choice was the most recent tattoo. The version of himself who etched those words had been aware of the older tattoo and its warnings. Surely, that Claude had understood the stakes.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  And yet, the sheer weight of the opposition made his chest tighten. If Zuni Keita had set his sights on Luca Frey, then protecting him would mean defying the one entity his tattoos demanded he avoid at all costs.

  The easy choice was to allow matters to run their course in the future if Zuni Keita was unsatisfied by the learnings of his first failed attack on Luca Frey. Claude would simply need to retreat his protection and allow Zuni Keita to pummel Luca, as he had done with everyone else before. It went against the directive to 'protect Luca at all costs,' but after testing Luca's capabilities, Zuni would leave him alone.

  Luca's ability to prolong one's life made him incredibly valuable. But Claude knew better than to be swayed by mere allure. That power alone, enticing as it was, wasn't enough to justify the risks Luca brought with him if Claude attempted to prevent another attack on him by the undead Awakened.

  Claude clenched his jaw. His gaze lingered on the gilded statue at the park's center, its outstretched hand pointing toward some distant resolution. A cool breeze swept through the trees, causing their leaves to rustle in a gentle, rhythmic whisper.

  However, Claude's intuition screamed that something was different this time.

  It came down to the final consideration: Grandov.

  When Claude met Luca on the road, Luca stated that Claude had killed a friend of his. It was a claim that had struck Claude as absurd at first. Killing Micah, a handful of guards, or even an inconvenient bird? That tracked with Claude's characteristic behavior. But killing someone that Luca considered a friend? That didn't align with how Claude operated. Even if time was a factor, the version of himself from the previous loop wouldn't have been too different in mindset from him today.

  The Claude who had scrawled his final, desperate instructions to protect Luca wasn't the type to casually eliminate someone integral to the young man's life while vying for his goodwill.

  Unless, that friend was Grandov.

  Claude's inquiries into who Luca was friends with ended at a dead end. The reports stated that Luca Frey had no friends. None at all. The consistency of that statement only made it more suspicious.

  Still, persistence had eventually unearthed one notable exception, albeit in the past tense. Grandov Lyman.

  The connection had seemed striking enough when Claude first discovered it, knowing that Grandov Lyman was the summoned hero of the loops. But it became far more intriguing when paired with what he recently learned of Grandov.

  The one rule of the looping state of the world was that if Grandov Lyman died, the world would reset. Thus, killing him was one way to reset the world—or perhaps test a theory.

  Yet, Sedna had let something slip during their conversation. She had revealed that the world continued after Claude's death—a self-destructing explosion that had also consumed the friend Luca mentioned.

  If Claude's suspicions were correct, that friend was Grandov. And if the loops had persisted beyond Grandov's death, the implications were staggering.

  Grandov Lyman no longer controls the loops. I must have tested that theory by killing him in the previous Round.

  Perhaps it was Luca Frey who held that power now.

  If that were true, the young man's significance far eclipsed his miraculous ability to extend life. Luca Frey wasn't just valuable—he was dangerous, a threat to the entity that even Claude's past selves had etched warnings about.

  Moreover, unless Luca managed to fool Micah Frey and the rest of his family, Claude was sure that he was not another summoned hero. That meant the unthinkable: Luca was a resident of this realm who not only Awakened but also found a way to gain control of the game.

  That, alongside his ability to extend someone's life, would certainly make him a treasure.

  Claude sighed. Around him, small clusters of nobles strolled, their laughter and hushed conversations blending into the serene ambiance.

  If Luca dies in the next attack by Zuni Keita, and I'm correct, those people will figure it out. And unlike me, Zuni will remember it, given he's Awakened. Who knows what they'll do with that knowledge?

  The trouble was that these conclusions rested on speculation and fragmented evidence. There were still too many gaps in the puzzle, too many unknowns. Claude wasn't certain yet, but he had no choice but to put a stake in the ground with his life on the line.

  Claude ran a hand over his forearm, where his tattoos lay concealed beneath layers of cloth. The etched words offered guidance but couldn't answer the questions that loomed the largest in his mind.

  Was Luca Frey worth protecting, as Sedna Ozeryn insisted? Or was he the kind of treasure that burned too brightly, one that might consume everyone who drew too close?

  Claude's jaw tightened as another thought loomed.

  I could do nothing. But inaction itself is now a deliberate act. If Luca dies and the world restarts… what will they do with that knowledge?

  Nearby, the sound of heels clicking against the cobblestones drew his attention. Two noblewomen strolled down the path, their long gowns swishing softly with each step. The taller of the two wore a violet dress with gold embroidery, her hands gesturing animatedly as she spoke. Her companion, a shorter woman in navy blue, clutched a lace fan, fluttering it near her face despite the sufficient chill in the summer air.

  "It's been such a headache," the taller woman lamented, her tone laced with exasperation. "I can't believe the bailout for the Financial Arcane Solutions didn't pass. Did none of those fools voting realize we'd have a financial crisis on our hands without it?"

  Claude's ears perked up as he feigned interest in the statue before him, his sharp gaze drifting to the pair.

  "I heard Anastasia Genuiver got drunk and sent her brother in her stead," the shorter woman chimed in, her voice tinged with glee at the scandal. "He voted against her interests on two matters, including the Arcane Financial vote."

  The taller woman huffed, turning up her nose. "It wouldn't have mattered. A quarter of the council was absent, all blaming some stomach flu. Hah!"

  Claude's eyes narrowed, recalling the peculiar report on the Noble Council's recent votes.

  Having met Luca Frey, the young man didn't strike him as a genius strategist and manipulator. Quite the opposite; his memory had many holes and blanks, which was unusual for an Awakened.

  Yet, the failed vote bore the fingerprints of Luca Frey's subtle machinations. Duncan Genuiver was a figure Claude's tattoos had never mentioned—a man who now stood as Luca's still-living sister-in-law's sworn aide, bolstered by a sudden rise in positive gossip of his good deeds. And the Financial Arcane Solutions? An organization that, according to his tattoos, should have thrived far into the future while depleting Adovoria of its funds. Yet now, it had met an untimely demise.

  Luca Frey may not have appeared like much, but he was not to be underestimated.

  A treasure, huh.

  An explanation for the cryptic wording came to mind.

  He might be a treasure. But treasures invite thieves.

  Claude turned his back on the noblewoman and began walking down a narrow, hidden path in the garden, his polished shoes crunching softly against the gravel, his decision made.

  Besides, why would I ever allow a treasure I'd discovered to come into someone else's hands?

  Ch 208 on Patreon.