Chapter 374
Keles leaned back, her gaze steady. "Perhaps it’s not about what you can give, but what you’re willing to face. Understanding hope means confronting the void—the fear of failure, the pain of striving for something you may never achieve. Are you willing to bear that?"
Silence fell over the carriage as Phantom processed her words. His faces began to flicker once more, a chaotic dance of contemplation.
Phantom looked up, his ever-shifting face briefly revealing curiosity. "If I may ask, what do you think of the ratmen and their struggle?"
Ikenga’s smile deepened, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction at the question. "They are a reflection of all mortal things—fragile, determined, and full of contradictions. But their story is not yet finished, because you are about to play a major part in it."
Ikenga seemed intoxicated by his own power as he extended his hand to Keles. She accepted it, and together they danced across the carriage. "As I mentioned before, if the ratmen are left alone, their fate would not change. They will remain slaves and cannon fodder, expendable in wars."
"I may not know much about your siblings, the other cursed beings, but I know enough about you. You stand close—closer than ever—to touching a boundary even your predecessors, Osisi and Boros, have not yet reached."
"Which is why you find yourself in a state of confusion, with so many questions," Ikenga continued, his voice a mixture of persuasion and certainty. "The path I have planned for you will answer those questions and dissolve your doubts, leading you to the divine throne. You will perform and orchestrate a grand design befitting your name—the Spotlight Phantom."
Phantom’s shifting faces briefly revealed an expression of astonishment, followed by one of contemplation. "The divine throne..." he murmured, his voice barely audible over the rhythmic creaking of the carriage. His form seemed to ripple with uncertainty, the multitude of faces reflecting his inner conflict. "A design fitting for my name, yet I wonder—what will I become once I ascend? What will remain of me, the one who questions and observes?"
Ikenga and Keles continued their graceful, almost surreal dance, their movements harmonizing with the pulsing energy that emanated from the carriage itself. Ikenga’s voice boomed with conviction, his power undeniable. "You will become what you were always meant to be: a master of the ephemeral, a conductor of ambition and despair, a beacon that draws all eyes to your spectacle. But you must first learn to embrace every aspect of yourself—your curiosity, your doubts, your cruelty, and your compassion. Only then will you be ready to claim the stage that awaits you."