Chapter 147: Bargaining

"..."

Kaelen was dumbstruck for a long moment as he stared at Emir, looking for the slightest hint that she was pulling his leg.

She had to be. There was simply no way she wanted to have a child through him—a stranger from the most hated race in the universe.

"I don’t think I find your silly jokes funny."

"Silly jokes, huh? I wonder if that would’ve been your reaction if I was a beautiful woman without a disability," Emir murmured loudly.

"It’s not about that. What kind of a woman wants to bear the child of a total stranger?"

"Oh, you seem to have misunderstood me the first time. I’m not trying to hit on you."

"I never said that."

"What I want is the founding successor through the bloodline that runs through your veins."

"The same founding successor you aren’t certain can be reproduced by me? It sounds like you have an ulterior motive, and even if it turns out to be true that I have the biological capability to do that, why the hell would I sleep with a random like you and leave my child with you?"

"Ouch. You seem to think I’m doing this for the love of the game."

"If you aren’t, then what are you playing at? What do you need the founding successor for? What made you think I’d ever agree to such an arrangement?"

"I never thought you’d agree to it, but you don’t really have a choice now, do you? The life of your mother and everyone you care about in your world, including yours, are at stake here."

Kaelen frowned. "Are you threatening me?"

Emir exhaled softly. "You surely think I want this, but the truth is, you have nothing to offer me in exchange except the founding successor. I also don’t plan to give away or run any crazy experiments on my child, neither would I use them as a bargaining chip with powerful figureheads like the Atreus family does. That aside, the founding successor would serve as a deterrent to other worlds when they discover you can mass-produce them. Now, don’t get me wrong, one is enough for me. But that one would have higher survival chances if they came from me rather than some random woman from your world. Trust me when I say no force would dare step up against my child."

"You haven’t answered my question; why do you need the founding successor? Why should I leave one in your care?"

"Stop acting like you’re leaving the hope of the world in my hands. If my theory is correct, then you possibly have the ability to give birth to more than one founding successor. The Atreus family might’ve been a bit rash in the past, but if you were to start the bloodline all over again with that knowledge, not only would you become the most feared man in the universe, but every other world out there would think twice before attacking or making an enemy out of humanity. You can save your world that way."

"I still don’t see how you can benefit from this," Kaelen replied almost immediately, keeping his guard up.

"That’s where you’re getting this all wrong, Kaelen. I’m playing the long game here. I’m investing in you now to reap those benefits in the future," Emir said with her signature smile.

Kaelen clenched his jaw. He couldn’t bring himself to trust this woman, especially after her weird request. "What exactly are you expecting from me in the future?"

Emir stared at him for a moment, her smile wavering for the first time as she momentarily zoned out. "...To bring an end to Evolution Online," she said softly, yet her voice carried the weight of something indescribable.

Kaelen was taken aback. "What?"

"When I was younger, I lost too many people I cared about to this cruel world. I cried so hard that I became numb to the pain. I wanted nothing more than to put an end to the cruelty and unfairness of this world. I spent my days obsessed with getting stronger and gathering powerful allies who died either way, but I had taught myself to be distant and willing to make difficult sacrifices for the greater good. I made them believe their deaths weren’t in vain... that one day we’d achieve what we truly dreamed of, a world that wasn’t built on battle and countless innocent lives..." Emir trailed off, her smile completely gone, replaced with a cold facade as her hands trembled from fear or rage.

Kaelen didn’t interrupt and simply listened, but after she didn’t say another word, he decided to ask. "And what happened?"

Emir slowly raised her head to look at him. "What do you think happened? They’re dead, all of them. Killed by the very system we swore to change... I should’ve died with them. Yet, I survived. After dragging them into my scheme, I outlived them all... because she thought it’d be funny to strip me of everything I’ve ever fought for, leaving me to wallow in grief and regrets. She wanted me to eventually take my life with my own hands."

"Who are we talking about?" Kaelen asked in curiosity.

Emir looked at him for a long moment. "I’m not trying to take advantage of you, Kaelen. This is what you wanted. To save everyone you truly care about, to take revenge against the gods of madness who have turned the universe into their playground. So tell me, Kaelen, do you plan on taking action, or do you want to remain a spectator who’ll eventually become a victim of the bloodthirsty system?"

Kaelen stared at Emir for a long moment. He could tell she wasn’t making up a sympathetic backstory to draw pity out of him. He could see the anger in her eyes as she spoke.

"Let me get this straight: you plan to put an end to Evolution Online?" He asked with a serious tone.

"That’s right."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You can’t talk about the origin of Evolution Online without the origin of existence itself, am I right?" Kaelen quoted his mother’s words.

"She broke my trust, remained silent when everything fell apart around me, when everyone died on a quest to make the world a better place. I still trusted her, believing if someone’s going to change the world, it had to be me. Then, the moment I took on that role, she suddenly woke up from her slumber to quench that fire and punish me for taking matters into my own hands."

As Emir said this, a memory suddenly resurfaced in Kaelen’s thoughts, making him frown before his eyes widened as it clicked with him.

"Wait, tell me... are you the one who forced the so-called creator to take action after wiping out 20% of the universe’s population?"

Emir was taken aback as she stared at Kaelen. "Creator? Is that what she’s called now?"

"She? I don’t know. You tell me."

"She’s nothing but a coward. A selfish bastard who derives pleasure from the pain of others. So tell me, Kaelen, are you interested in my offer?"

"Are you willing to save your mother and world in exchange for giving me the founding successor?"

"I’m sorry, but I don’t plan on involving my future offspring in your battles. I never agreed to going against the so-called creator. I only want to save my mother and my world if it benefits me in any way."

Emir simply smiled. "What battle are you talking about? I can’t possibly make a change in this state, or best someone who was able to squash me like an annoying bug in my prime. It’s all up to you, Kaelen. I just want you to understand you’ll never find true peace in the current state of universe, even if you were to save your world.

"And You don’t have to worry about our child, after all, I believe you’ll be present in their life too as their father."

Kaelen frowned slightly. "What are you playing at?"

"There’s no guarantee that our first attempt will produce a female successor. Even if my theory is correct, conception isn’t something I can guarantee." Emir replied with her signature smile.

Kaelen’s frown only deepened. "First off, I haven’t even agreed to your offer. And secondly, I’m not going to be your boy toy."

Emir raised a hand to her lips to chuckle softly. "You’re so silly. Of course, that’s not what it is."

"If you agree to my offer, Kaelen... we’ll have to get married first. That’s the only way I can consent to you touching me."

"What the hell?"

"But before you make your choice, I’d like to take you somewhere first. You’ll see the true nature of the universe you live in and learn everything you need to know about the place you’ll be spending the rest of your days if you accept my offer."

"But I must warn you. No matter what happens, don’t pick a fight with anyone."

Kaelen frowned. "Why?"

"Because you might be the strongest in your world, Kaelen, but there, you’re nothing."

"So if anything happens, stay behind me."

"I’ll do the fighting."

"Are you sure about that, lady?" Kaelen asked as he glanced at her legs. "For someone who killed 20% the population of the entire universe, I doubt they’ll like you very much." Kaelen said bluntly.

Emir only smiled. "That’s exactly why I’m going with you."