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Kira lowered her gaze, understanding the implication behind his words. She trusted her superior completely—his decisions were never made lightly. And yet, the unease in her heart refused to settle.
"What I don't understand is…" she pressed carefully, choosing her words with caution. "Why send him back to his original world? We could have assigned him to any other worldline for temporary residence. Eclipse is no longer bound there—he has the freedom to choose. It didn't have to be that place."
Her reasoning was sound.
There were countless worldlines available—safer ones, stable ones, far removed from whatever danger followed Eclipse now. There should have been better alternatives.
But Raven simply remained silent for a brief moment.
'This is a special case…'
There were truths he could not reveal—not even to Kira, despite the trust between them. The matter extended beyond ordinary jurisdiction; bound by orders he had no choice but to obey.
'It is within [his] orders… and I must comply.'
"I can only tell you this much," Raven finally said. "His original world holds something beyond our comprehension. It is the only place where Eclipse's condition can stabilize… and where he can truly heal."
He paused, his gaze darkening slightly.
"And perhaps… it is also the only place where he can learn to let go of his past… and make peace with himself."
Kira frowned faintly.
'That explanation is far too vague…'
Yet she chose not to press further. She could already tell that this was the limit of what he was allowed to disclose.
"Make peace with himself?" she echoed, shifting the topic slightly. "But… isn't Eclipse the type who doesn't dwell on revenge? From what I've seen, he never seemed like someone driven by vengeance."
At her words, Raven let out a quiet breath that bordered on a soft scoff, though he quickly composed himself.
"Well," he began, leaning back slightly in his chair, "from the very first time I met that kid… he carried a kind of hatred so deep that it seemed to consume him entirely. For a time, I thought he was beyond saving—that he was already lost."
His gaze softened, flickering with distant memory.
"But…"
His voice trailed off once more as that memory resurfaced completely in his mind—the day Eclipse first returned from one of his earliest missions.
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[FLASHBACK]
"It seems like another success on your end, Eclipse! Congratulations!"
Raven's voice carried a rare note of approval as he greeted the young dimensional traveler who had just returned from a completed mission. Standing beside Eclipse was his system companion—a sentient entity he had named Silver, capable of perceiving and responding to human emotions.
Eclipse inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the greeting.
"Good day, Sir Raven," he replied politely. "There's no need for congratulations. I was merely fulfilling my duties as a dimensional traveler."
His tone was calm—too calm.
Neither pride nor relief could be found within it.
Raven studied him carefully. The emptiness behind the young man's eyes did not go unnoticed. There was something unsettling about it, as though Eclipse had already detached himself from everything around him.
He sighed quietly.
"Eclipse, let me ask you something directly," Raven said. "Before you became a dimensional traveler, your system asked you a question, didn't it?"
Eclipse remained silent, his gaze steady.
"It asked whether you wanted revenge for what happened in your first life," Raven continued. "Do you remember that?"
There was no visible reaction.
"And yet," Raven pressed on, "you never answered with a simple [yes] or [no]. Instead, you questioned the purpose of revenge itself. But when you were asked whether you wanted to live…"
He paused briefly.
"Your answer was an immediate [yes]. That answer bound you to the system."
Raven leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on him.
"So, tell me… why?"
Raven had never truly understood what Eclipse had been thinking at that time.
In most cases, those who became dimensional travelers—especially individuals who had once been bound by the script of their original worldline—shared a common desire. The majority of them sought revenge against the people who had wronged them in their past lives. It was almost expected, a natural reaction to the suffering they had endured.
The Main House System never prohibited such choices. After all, once those individuals became dimensional travelers, they were no longer shackled to their original worldlines. They had been freed from the constraints of the world's plot, untethered from the roles forced upon them.
Even so, there were still limitations that governed their actions.
"You asked me why I answered that question— [Do you wish to live, then?]. The answer is simple," Eclipse said, his tone calm yet unwavering. "Because pursuing revenge is meaningless. It only perpetuates an endless cycle of hatred."
Raven was pulled back from his thoughts upon hearing that response. His gaze fixed on the young man before him, a hint of fascination flickering in his eyes at such an unexpected answer.
"Before, I also considered taking revenge," Eclipse continued. "Against those who caused my suffering… who made my life miserable in that original worldline."
He paused briefly, as though weighing his next words, and Raven remained silent, allowing him to continue without interruption.
"But when I thought about it again," Eclipse added, "it wasn't truly their fault. They were simply acting according to the script that had been written for them."
His words carried no bitterness toward those people—only a detached acknowledgment of the truth behind their actions.
Eclipse lifted his gaze, meeting Raven's eyes directly.
"It is [HIS] fault," he said, his voice lowering slightly. "He is the reason I suffered in that world. [HE] was the one who began this entire mess."
There was a brief silence following those words.
"If revenge must be taken, then it should be directed toward [HIM]," Eclipse continued. "But… what would that achieve?"
He gave a faint, almost imperceptible shake of his head.
"If I choose revenge, I will only become a slave to my own emotions. I would lose control… and in the end, I would never find peace."
After saying that, Eclipse averted his gaze, as though the conversation had already reached its conclusion. He turned slightly, preparing to leave, his steps light yet resolute.
However, just before he could walk away completely, he stopped.
Without turning back, he spoke once more.
"If I have to choose… then I choose to live."
There was a quiet finality in his voice.
"…Because that is what my mother asked of me before she passed away."
His words lingered in the air long after he had spoken to them.
"I will honor that request."
[END OF FLASHBACK]
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