Chapter 113: Can it be? Is this true?
"Do you need anything else, my Lord?" Sam asked. Cass was tucked in with nice, new sheets around his shoulders. His bed was fully repaired and fixed, the sheets warm thanks to a little thing that Sam had slid in between the sheets, and his pillow was fluffed. Byron’s frame was standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway masking his face as he stood there, making sure that they were safe while Sam stood by Cass’ side of the bed, fussing.
If Cass was honest, all of this care was making his eyes heavy. He’d gotten that burst of energy to deal with the small group outside of his rooms, but now it was all gone. He could barely keep himself awake. He felt like he opened his mouth and mumbled something, but he wasn’t sure. Sam’s hand brushed his forehead before Cass’ eyes closed for the final time and the sleep overtook him.
~
When Cass opened his eyes, it was dark. He blinked several times, his heart racing in his chest as he whipped his head around trying to see if the whole area was dark. Coming to the conclusion that yes, he was in a dark space again, he did notice that something was a little off with it. This didn’t feel like the space that he had woken up in before when he was talking to the ’gods’, but at the same time...
Where the hell was he? What was going on? Was he actually awake? Were the ’gods’ checking in on him after what he’d gone through? He thought that they were only able to do that if he was in the temple?
A gentle breeze blew, and Cass turned in the direction it was coming from. Suddenly, the space behind him was filled with bright light and Cass had to narrow his gaze to even be able to see. It was a grove of sorts, filled with sunlight, trees and flowers. It actually...looked like his favourite spot in the park that he used to go to that was near his home.
Swallowing, Cass got to his feet, moving towards the brightly lit area, all the while every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Why the fuck was he being shown this? Was he...
Was he going to meet Lord Blackburn?
Excitement filled him, before he tried to dampen it down. Even if this was the normal route when something like this happened, that might not be the case. It could be another ’god’. Even if something like this happened after a replacement arrived in another land, or the black screen was pretty fucking common, that didn’t mean that Cass was going to get it.
Yes, the ’gods’ used romance novels as the way they spread the stories of their worlds, but that didn’t mean he’d get the same trope, did it? Since Lord Blackburn’s tale wasn’t a transmigration story originally, and a reverse harem instead. But even then...
If he was, why now? What had changed? Did Lord Blackburn think he was going to tap out before and thus, didn’t want to reveal himself? He waited until the man taking over his body experienced his week-long issue and then if they didn’t immediately slam the emergency eject button, he would speak with them?
Cass was pissed just thinking about that, considering all of the fucking work he’d put in, but he also understood. Lord Blackburn was a cautious person, always had been, always would be. Cass knew that probably better than most.
It felt like it was taking him forever to walk towards the grove, and as his thoughts continued to circle in his head, he got more and more excited. It only amplified when he thought he saw someone inside of the grove.
He was going to be so disappointed if it wasn’t Lord Blackburn. If it was some dusty ’god’ they would be humbled so quickly at how much Cass didn’t want to speak with them. He honestly might want to speak with Vespertine instead, and that man was...
Cass grumbled, frowning as he thought of the other man, before quickly shoving those thoughts to the side. Nothing to taint this moment if it was Lord Blackburn. He wanted to know so much, but he also wanted to tell him about all of the things he was doing. He also wanted to make sure that Lord Blackburn was okay with what was happening. Cass would be devastated if he wasn’t, since he already felt like a body snatcher.
Finally, Cass stopped, only an inch or two away from the grove proper. His heart was racing in his chest, and he was sure that his breathing was a little off. Now that he was close enough he could see a small white, wrought iron table set up inside of the grove with two matching chairs and someone was seated at the table. It was so...classically romance novel coded that Cass felt a little shiver of anticipation go down his spine.
The person had their back to them, but the dark outfit, along with the short, white hair that brushed against the nape of their neck was giving Cass hope.
Anxiously, he swallowed, before stepping into the grove. The gravel of the path crunched under his feet, the trees whispered as a breeze blew through the area, and the flowers’ scent filled the air. It felt so familiar, so welcoming that Cass couldn’t help himself. Cass could feel his body relax as he took in a few more breaths and followed the path towards the person at the end of it.
Then, he was there. He was so nervous that he moved towards the free seat, forcing himself not to look at the person who occupied the other seat. He was nervous. What if it wasn’t Lord Blackburn? What if one of the ’gods’ had taken his form? Fuck, his heart was a drum in his chest. He sat down, scooting the chair closer to the table and finally, Cass raised his gaze up, slowly looking at the person sitting across from him and when he did, he felt like everything stopped.
It was him. It was Lord Blackburn.
His gaze was hard, his eyes sharp rubies in his face. His expression was flat, almost cold, and he sat up straight, his back inflexible. His hair was perfect, and Cass realised in that moment that he had actually been nothing like him, and he was sure that Lord Blackburn was going to tear into him for it.
Cass was caught between two emotions. Freaking out because he was meeting one of his favourite characters who appeared as if they weren’t going to disappoint him, and also severe worry that he was going to be yelled at by said favourite character.
"I’m sorry." Those were not the first words he expected from Lord Blackburn, and Cass froze.
"What?" Cass repeated, and then jerked. He’d been so used to sounding like Lord Blackburn that he was taken aback to realise that he...sounded like himself. Actually...who was he? He looked down at his hands and arms, able to see them since he was out of the darkness and realised he was in the outfit he had died in. He was also in his own body, and he was more sure of it when he raised his hands to his face and found his glasses were in place there. He didn’t think he needed them, but it was actually...comforting to know that he hadn’t lost this part of himself.
"I didn’t think I would linger like this either, but, we are going to have to continue to cohabitate for the time being." Lord Blackburn said, but for some reason Cass didn’t believe him. Lord Blackburn had a lot of secrets, Cass being the first one to know that since he’d been trying to get to the bottom of what the ’gods’ had asked him to do.
There was a very large chance that Lord Blackburn did know he was going to linger around, but how he knew was something Cass didn’t know. Honestly, it wasn’t that big of a deal if he did know, Cass was just worried about one thing.
"Are you alright with that?" Cass asked and Lord Blackburn seemed mildly surprised by that question.
"Am I alright with that? Do I have a choice?" He scoffed. "You yourself already know what dealing with the gods is like, so why would you ask if I am alright with it? No doubt they briefed you on the situation. Apparently, the world ends if my plans continue, and they were kind enough to let me know that even if I went through with my actions, they wouldn’t matter." Lord Blackburn’s jaw tightened. "It doesn’t work." He said tightly and Cass’ chest ached.
It wasn’t as if betraying the people you had lived with and worked with for so long was something easy. Cass had never done it, so he wouldn’t know fully, but he could imagine it. The ending scenes were some of the reasons why he had thought the story was okay. Lord Blackburn’s betrayal had saved the book from being boring, but that shouldn’t be on him anymore.
"You do." Cass said, swallowing. "They basically bribed me to do this, threatening my family, but I would rather respect your opinions on this than be pushed around by some gods who don’t want to get their hands dirty to fix whatever problem they created." Cass told him, surprising Lord Blackburn again. He turned his face away, his gaze contemplative and Cass sat there, waiting. He’d respect whatever Lord Blackburn came back with.
It wasn’t his body to make a choice with.