Chapter 261
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Sekai shook his head. "I can't tell you anything."
It wasn't like he was being stubborn either. He truly couldn't say anything unless he wanted those terrible consequences to happen to him.
He wasn't going to chance it like this either.
Even up until now, he still didn't have a concrete answer of what would trigger such a meltdown, and he wasn't going to risk it before he did.
Alec nodded. He'd expected as much.
If someone was going to make a brand and stick it on someone of all things, the first thing that they'd make sure of was to to prevent anonymity to the crafter. He'd just straight up call them idiots if they didn't, honestly.
It had been a long shot, but it was a base that he didn't want to overlook only to find out in the future that there had been a much simpler option.
"Then, answer my questions. Yes or no," Alec attempted.
Sekai's eyes glittered. Why didn't he think of that? That could work!
Honestly, Alec didn't think it was going to work, but like he said, covering all the bases.
"Are you part of an organization?"
Sekai's eyes glazed over when he was about to answer affirmative. He shook out of it a few moments later.
"Won't work," he said, and he sounded like such a sullen child that Alec found it funny.
"I thought so."
Sekai hissed. "Can't you get the brand off? I'll answer all your questions if you manage to get it off."
Alec shook his head. "It's not that simple. What you have there is a customized seal. Meaning, the original form of the seal has been distorted into something else entirely. Doing so means that it's nigh impossible to figure out the true extent of what it can do without extensive research on it."
Sekai listened quietly as he digested the words coming out of the array master's mouth. It was something that appeared rather out of place with Sekai's brash personality.
Unfortunately for Sekai, his findings weren't extensive, nor were they concrete either.
For one, he didn't even know how the brand looked like since it was only visible when it was active, or when there was magic running near the area.
Since he couldn't trust Xin Yi, there was no way that he was able to get her to tell him how it looked like.
He couldn't see it in the mirror either, much to his frustration.
Those days, it felt like his freedom was further away than it had ever been, leading to more and more frustration on Sekai's part.
The more the frustration mounted, the blurrier the goals in his mind appeared.
Actually getting to hear about his situation from an array master's mouth was a godsend in this situation.
Even if it was from the mouth of the damn System.
Sekai thought that he would actually able to forgive the other man if he managed to get the brand off him, his love life be damned.
"Anyway, when the hell are you going to let me out of this pit?" Sekai impatiently asked, his head swirling around.
He still couldn't move anything from neck down.
Alec tilted his head. "Well… why don't you tell me why your name is Sekai in this life?"
Sekai barely contained his jerk, but he came off as remarkably composed. Too bad that actually made him more suspicious instead. But Alec didn't need to know those tells to know that he was lying either.
"What are you talking about? Obviously, my parents gave it to me."
A smile spread on Alec's face. "You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You are. I can see it."
"Bullshit."
"I'm not lying, though? I can see the influx of runes that appeared when you lied. It's probably one of the seal's functions that you didn't know about."
Sekai fell silent, then he broke out in a multitude of swears that made Alec feel the tiniest bit of admiration at his extensive vocabulary.
Alec didn't know how to classify the brand that was stuck on the other man.
It was a seal that seemed to have very specific triggers.
He had no idea why Alec's words had managed to influence the seal in the first place previously, but judging from Sekai's reactions, there were various levels of levels to the brand.
Honestly, Alec didn't really give a fuck about Sekai, but what really triggered him was the fact that there were more people running around with this brand on them as well.
You didn't create an extensive brand like this just to use it on a single person.
It was an insult to his profession that something this vile could be allowed to go free.
More than that, he had a feeling that this had something to do with a larger plot as well.
So, Alec had no choice but to care, but even if he did have a choice, he wouldn't have allowed the person who created such a thing to go about their lives freely in the first place.
It utterly sickened him to think about someone like that going about their lives freely.
"So? How did your name come about?"
Sekai glowered at him. He didn't want to say it.
Alec shrugged. "Well, we have to see whether or not it stops if you tell the truth, right?"
"…The person that registered my name heard it wrongly and inputted it, so it's stuck like that."
Alec laughed, but it wasn't unkind. He ignored Sekai's growling.
Xi Kai… Sekai. Honestly, he could see how the person had gotten that mistake. It was more of a pronunciation thing that was rather off, but it was still plausible.
Honestly. The more they interacted, the more Alec felt like Sekai was more like a hissy stray cat instead.
He was kind of prickly, but when he calmed down a bit, he wasn't so bad.
Sekai could have just continued to refuse answering him.
It wasn't like the runes had been there before he lied, so that meant that they wouldn't hang around indefinitely, but really. It had to be something to do with the seal that was interfering with the man's judgement.
If he recalled correctly, the other wasn't as quite like this in his previous life. The data that he obtained on Xi Kai before he appeared was rather extensive, but now it was almost as if the anger and rage had been pushed up to the forefront of his mind.
"Are you a Sin?" Alec asked.
"What's it to you?" Sekai snorted. "So what if I am?"
"I was just wondering whether or not you received a special seal, or if it's just the general one. Make sure to keep your answers very general, and in no way containing anything that might interfere with your mind."
Sekai thought about it. He made sure to be very vague with his phrasing so that the brand couldn't trap him. "I was in a room by myself."
Alec nodded. He suspected that the brand that Sekai received was specialized for him. "What's the ratio of Sins to the other Societypes?"
Sekai shook his head. "I'm the only one."
Interesting.
So, Alec had other things to work with now. It seemed that Sekai could still answer, but neither the question nor answer could contain things that talked specifically about the identity of the group, nor could names be revealed.
"Three months," Sekai suddenly said. He pointed at his neck.
Alec's eyes widened minutely. "I see."
Alec finally withdrew his magic from the Awakened mixture that was keeping Sekai bound, and the Sin hauled himself out with a strange expression on his face when he felt the… *thing* holding him loosen.
Just what was that exactly?
As a tentative peace-offering, Alec held out a hand to Sekai to grab, who eyed the hand in front of him before hesitantly grabbing it.
Of course, that was the exact moment that fucked them up.
Ye Sha barely let out a shout of warning before the two who seemed to be connected by fate were abruptly shoved through space.
The hands that had been loosely gripping each other tightened reflexively, before they were shoved out again, tumbling down.
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Sekai shook his head. "I can't tell you anything."
It wasn't like he was being stubborn either. He truly couldn't say anything unless he wanted those terrible consequences to happen to him.
He wasn't going to chance it like this either.
Even up until now, he still didn't have a concrete answer of what would trigger such a meltdown, and he wasn't going to risk it before he did.
Alec nodded. He'd expected as much.
If someone was going to make a brand and stick it on someone of all things, the first thing that they'd make sure of was to to prevent anonymity to the crafter. He'd just straight up call them idiots if they didn't, honestly.
It had been a long shot, but it was a base that he didn't want to overlook only to find out in the future that there had been a much simpler option.
"Then, answer my questions. Yes or no," Alec attempted.
Sekai's eyes glittered. Why didn't he think of that? That could work!
Honestly, Alec didn't think it was going to work, but like he said, covering all the bases.
"Are you part of an organization?"
Sekai's eyes glazed over when he was about to answer affirmative. He shook out of it a few moments later.
"Won't work," he said, and he sounded like such a sullen child that Alec found it funny.
"I thought so."
Sekai hissed. "Can't you get the brand off? I'll answer all your questions if you manage to get it off."
Alec shook his head. "It's not that simple. What you have there is a customized seal. Meaning, the original form of the seal has been distorted into something else entirely. Doing so means that it's nigh impossible to figure out the true extent of what it can do without extensive research on it."
Sekai listened quietly as he digested the words coming out of the array master's mouth. It was something that appeared rather out of place with Sekai's brash personality.
Unfortunately for Sekai, his findings weren't extensive, nor were they concrete either.
For one, he didn't even know how the brand looked like since it was only visible when it was active, or when there was magic running near the area.
Since he couldn't trust Xin Yi, there was no way that he was able to get her to tell him how it looked like.
He couldn't see it in the mirror either, much to his frustration.
Those days, it felt like his freedom was further away than it had ever been, leading to more and more frustration on Sekai's part.
The more the frustration mounted, the blurrier the goals in his mind appeared.
Actually getting to hear about his situation from an array master's mouth was a godsend in this situation.
Even if it was from the mouth of the damn System.
Sekai thought that he would actually able to forgive the other man if he managed to get the brand off him, his love life be damned.
"Anyway, when the hell are you going to let me out of this pit?" Sekai impatiently asked, his head swirling around.
He still couldn't move anything from neck down.
Alec tilted his head. "Well… why don't you tell me why your name is Sekai in this life?"
Sekai barely contained his jerk, but he came off as remarkably composed. Too bad that actually made him more suspicious instead. But Alec didn't need to know those tells to know that he was lying either.
"What are you talking about? Obviously, my parents gave it to me."
A smile spread on Alec's face. "You're lying."
"I'm not."
"You are. I can see it."
"Bullshit."
"I'm not lying, though? I can see the influx of runes that appeared when you lied. It's probably one of the seal's functions that you didn't know about."
Sekai fell silent, then he broke out in a multitude of swears that made Alec feel the tiniest bit of admiration at his extensive vocabulary.
Alec didn't know how to classify the brand that was stuck on the other man.
It was a seal that seemed to have very specific triggers.
He had no idea why Alec's words had managed to influence the seal in the first place previously, but judging from Sekai's reactions, there were various levels of levels to the brand.
Honestly, Alec didn't really give a fuck about Sekai, but what really triggered him was the fact that there were more people running around with this brand on them as well.
You didn't create an extensive brand like this just to use it on a single person.
It was an insult to his profession that something this vile could be allowed to go free.
More than that, he had a feeling that this had something to do with a larger plot as well.
So, Alec had no choice but to care, but even if he did have a choice, he wouldn't have allowed the person who created such a thing to go about their lives freely in the first place.
It utterly sickened him to think about someone like that going about their lives freely.
"So? How did your name come about?"
Sekai glowered at him. He didn't want to say it.
Alec shrugged. "Well, we have to see whether or not it stops if you tell the truth, right?"
"…The person that registered my name heard it wrongly and inputted it, so it's stuck like that."
Alec laughed, but it wasn't unkind. He ignored Sekai's growling.
Xi Kai… Sekai. Honestly, he could see how the person had gotten that mistake. It was more of a pronunciation thing that was rather off, but it was still plausible.
Honestly. The more they interacted, the more Alec felt like Sekai was more like a hissy stray cat instead.
He was kind of prickly, but when he calmed down a bit, he wasn't so bad.
Sekai could have just continued to refuse answering him.
It wasn't like the runes had been there before he lied, so that meant that they wouldn't hang around indefinitely, but really. It had to be something to do with the seal that was interfering with the man's judgement.
If he recalled correctly, the other wasn't as quite like this in his previous life. The data that he obtained on Xi Kai before he appeared was rather extensive, but now it was almost as if the anger and rage had been pushed up to the forefront of his mind.
"Are you a Sin?" Alec asked.
"What's it to you?" Sekai snorted. "So what if I am?"
"I was just wondering whether or not you received a special seal, or if it's just the general one. Make sure to keep your answers very general, and in no way containing anything that might interfere with your mind."
Sekai thought about it. He made sure to be very vague with his phrasing so that the brand couldn't trap him. "I was in a room by myself."
Alec nodded. He suspected that the brand that Sekai received was specialized for him. "What's the ratio of Sins to the other Societypes?"
Sekai shook his head. "I'm the only one."
Interesting.
So, Alec had other things to work with now. It seemed that Sekai could still answer, but neither the question nor answer could contain things that talked specifically about the identity of the group, nor could names be revealed.
"Three months," Sekai suddenly said. He pointed at his neck.
Alec's eyes widened minutely. "I see."
Alec finally withdrew his magic from the Awakened mixture that was keeping Sekai bound, and the Sin hauled himself out with a strange expression on his face when he felt the… *thing* holding him loosen.
Just what was that exactly?
As a tentative peace-offering, Alec held out a hand to Sekai to grab, who eyed the hand in front of him before hesitantly grabbing it.
Of course, that was the exact moment that fucked them up.
Ye Sha barely let out a shout of warning before the two who seemed to be connected by fate were abruptly shoved through space.
The hands that had been loosely gripping each other tightened reflexively, before they were shoved out again, tumbling down.
Sekai shook his head. "I can't tell you anything."It wasn't like he was being stubborn either. He truly couldn't say anything unless he wanted those terrible consequences to happen to him.He wasn't going to chance it like this either.Even up until now, he still didn't have a concrete answer of what would trigger such a meltdown, and he wasn't going to risk it before he did.Alec nodded. He'd expected as much.If someone was going to make a brand and stick it on someone of all things, the first thing that they'd make sure of was to to prevent anonymity to the crafter. He'd just straight up call them idiots if they didn't, honestly.It had been a long shot, but it was a base that he didn't want to overlook only to find out in the future that there had been a much simpler option."Then, answer my questions. Yes or no," Alec attempted.Sekai's eyes glittered. Why didn't he think of that? That could work!Honestly, Alec didn't think it was going to work, but like he said, covering all the bases."Are you part of an organization?"Sekai's eyes glazed over when he was about to answer affirmative. He shook out of it a few moments later."Won't work," he said, and he sounded like such a sullen child that Alec found it funny."I thought so."Sekai hissed. "Can't you get the brand off? I'll answer all your questions if you manage to get it off."Alec shook his head. "It's not that simple. What you have there is a customized seal. Meaning, the original form of the seal has been distorted into something else entirely. Doing so means that it's nigh impossible to figure out the true extent of what it can do without extensive research on it."Sekai listened quietly as he digested the words coming out of the array master's mouth. It was something that appeared rather out of place with Sekai's brash personality.Unfortunately for Sekai, his findings weren't extensive, nor were they concrete either.For one, he didn't even know how the brand looked like since it was only visible when it was active, or when there was magic running near the area.Since he couldn't trust Xin Yi, there was no way that he was able to get her to tell him how it looked like.He couldn't see it in the mirror either, much to his frustration.Those days, it felt like his freedom was further away than it had ever been, leading to more and more frustration on Sekai's part.The more the frustration mounted, the blurrier the goals in his mind appeared.Actually getting to hear about his situation from an array master's mouth was a godsend in this situation.Even if it was from the mouth of the damn System.Sekai thought that he would actually able to forgive the other man if he managed to get the brand off him, his love life be damned."Anyway, when the hell are you going to let me out of this pit?" Sekai impatiently asked, his head swirling around.He still couldn't move anything from neck down.Alec tilted his head. "Well why don't you tell me why your name is Sekai in this life?"Sekai barely contained his jerk, but he came off as remarkably composed. Too bad that actually made him more suspicious instead. But Alec didn't need to know those tells to know that he was lying either."What are you talking about? Obviously, my parents gave it to me."A smile spread on Alec's face. "You're lying.""I'm not.""You are. I can see it.""Bullshit.""I'm not lying, though? I can see the influx of runes that appeared when you lied. It's probably one of the seal's functions that you didn't know about."Sekai fell silent, then he broke out in a multitude of swears that made Alec feel the tiniest bit of admiration at his extensive vocabulary.Alec didn't know how to classify the brand that was stuck on the other man.It was a seal that seemed to have very specific triggers.He had no idea why Alec's words had managed to influence the seal in the first place previously, but judging from Sekai's reactions, there were various levels of levels to the brand.Honestly, Alec didn't really give a fuck about Sekai, but what really triggered him was the fact that there were more people running around with this brand on them as well.You didn't create an extensive brand like this just to use it on a single person.It was an insult to his profession that something this vile could be allowed to go free.More than that, he had a feeling that this had something to do with a larger plot as well.So, Alec had no choice but to care, but even if he did have a choice, he wouldn't have allowed the person who created such a thing to go about their lives freely in the first place.It utterly sickened him to think about someone like that going about their lives freely."So? How did your name come about?"Sekai glowered at him. He didn't want to say it.Alec shrugged. "Well, we have to see whether or not it stops if you tell the truth, right?""The person that registered my name heard it wrongly and inputted it, so it's stuck like that."Alec laughed, but it wasn't unkind. He ignored Sekai's growling.Xi Kai Sekai. Honestly, he could see how the person had gotten that mistake. It was more of a pronunciation thing that was rather off, but it was still plausible.Honestly. The more they interacted, the more Alec felt like Sekai was more like a hissy stray cat instead.He was kind of prickly, but when he calmed down a bit, he wasn't so bad.Sekai could have just continued to refuse answering him.It wasn't like the runes had been there before he lied, so that meant that they wouldn't hang around indefinitely, but really. It had to be something to do with the seal that was interfering with the man's judgement.If he recalled correctly, the other wasn't as quite like this in his previous life. The data that he obtained on Xi Kai before he appeared was rather extensive, but now it was almost as if the anger and rage had been pushed up to the forefront of his mind."Are you a Sin?" Alec asked."What's it to you?" Sekai snorted. "So what if I am?""I was just wondering whether or not you received a special seal, or if it's just the general one. Make sure to keep your answers very general, and in no way containing anything that might interfere with your mind."Sekai thought about it. He made sure to be very vague with his phrasing so that the brand couldn't trap him. "I was in a room by myself."Alec nodded. He suspected that the brand that Sekai received was specialized for him. "What's the ratio of Sins to the other Societypes?"Sekai shook his head. "I'm the only one."Interesting.So, Alec had other things to work with now. It seemed that Sekai could still answer, but neither the question nor answer could contain things that talked specifically about the identity of the group, nor could names be revealed."Three months," Sekai suddenly said. He pointed at his neck.Alec's eyes widened minutely. "I see."Alec finally withdrew his magic from the Awakened mixture that was keeping Sekai bound, and the Sin hauled himself out with a strange expression on his face when he felt the *thing* holding him loosen.Just what was that exactly?As a tentative peace-offering, Alec held out a hand to Sekai to grab, who eyed the hand in front of him before hesitantly grabbing it.Of course, that was the exact moment that fucked them up.Ye Sha barely let out a shout of warning before the two who seemed to be connected by fate were abruptly shoved through space.The hands that had been loosely gripping each other tightened reflexively, before they were shoved out again, tumbling down.
