Chapter 130: A Prophet’s Curse - Part 1
"Alfred told me everything you said to him."
Silas sat comfortably on the sofa while Darius remained standing before him, having no intention of taking a seat. He knew this conversation would be difficult from the very beginning.
’As expected...’
An inward sigh escaped him.
’I stayed by your side the entire journey back from the mine, yet you still found a chance to speak with Alfred when I wasn’t paying attention.’
It neither surprised nor unsettled him. He had expected this outcome from the start.
"So," Silas said calmly, his eyes fixed on him, "your ability lets you see the darker side of the future?"
Darius didn’t say a word.
"What does that even mean?"
Silas ignored Darius’ silence for a moment as countless thoughts crossed his mind. He remembered how Darius had reacted while they were planning inside the mine, how he had always known the correct answer, as though every decision had already been tested.
’Even my Time Mind World couldn’t give me guidance that precise.’
His gaze never left Darius.
’You won’t escape this one with clever words.’
After a brief silence, Darius finally spoke.
"If you want the truth, then I have one condition."
Silas simply waited.
"You can tell others about my ability... or you can keep it secret. The choice is yours."
A faint smile appeared on Silas’ face.
"Everyone carries secrets."
"So will yours."
He had no intention of forcing Darius to reveal more than he wished. Cher had her secrets. Alfred had his. Even Silas himself guarded truths he would never share with anyone.
Patiently, he waited for Darius to gather his thoughts.
"Fine."
Darius finally sat down across from him.
"Either way, I owe you this much."
He lowered his gaze before speaking again.
"I’ve had this ability since I was five."
"At first, I thought I was cursed."
"Terrifying visions would appear without warning, whether it was day or night. They felt so real that I couldn’t tell where they ended and reality began."
His voice remained steady, devoid of melodrama, yet Silas could hear the fear hidden beneath those calm words. The thought of a five-year-old enduring such nightmares alone was enough to make his chest tighten.
"Like any child, I told my parents."
"And like any loving parents, they believed something was terribly wrong with me. They searched everywhere for answers until they reached one conclusion."
For the first time, pain surfaced in Darius’ expression. His face tightened for a brief moment before he forced himself back under control.
"They believed I was possessed... by a ghost, or some evil power from Eldrune."
"So they performed exorcisms."
"Again and again."
"Until I couldn’t endure them anymore."
Silence settled between them.
’It seems he suffered from his parents’ love and care in a worse way.’
’Yet... I don’t know what love and care from parents look like.’
’I can’t fully understand what you lived through, my friend.’
’Yet I can tell it wasn’t easy.’
Silas couldn’t bring himself to interrupt, nor could he think of a single comforting word that wouldn’t sound hollow.
’What could words possibly do against scars like these?’
His chest felt heavy.
For years, he had believed his own childhood had been the cruellest among his friends. Now he wasn’t so sure anymore.
"So..."
"I decided to lie."
Darius took a slow breath as memories he had buried long ago resurfaced.
"No matter what I saw, I would never tell them again."
"I told them I was cured."
"And from that day onward..."
"I pretended to be normal."
Darius fell silent, this time for a long while.
Silas watched his friend without interrupting. The faint smile that had lingered on his face had already disappeared, replaced by quiet understanding. He respected the pain Darius had carried all these years, yet he also knew the story wasn’t over.
"When I was left alone, I finally began to understand what that so-called curse truly was," Darius said quietly. "And little by little, I started noticing a pattern."
Fragments of memories flashed through his mind, countless visions followed by the disasters they foretold.
"Everything I saw came true... Every nightmare, every tragedy that haunted me."
His eyes gradually reddened, though he still kept his emotions under control.
"The first thing that proved it was my younger sister’s death."
He lowered his gaze before continuing.
"That was when I realised it wasn’t a curse at all. It was a warning."
"So I tried to change what I saw. I tried to stop the disasters before they happened."
A bitter smile crossed his face.
"But I failed."
His eyes reddened further, and Silas saw a tinge of tears forming there before Darius wiped the tears away.
Taking a deep and agonising breath, he continued.
"I couldn’t save my mother. I couldn’t stop my home from burning down. Eventually, I stopped believing those visions were meant to help anyone besides me, especially as they became more terrifying with every passing year."
His thoughts drifted to the years before he became an Enhancer.
"They all revolved around me suffering... or worse. More than once, I saw myself dying."
He let out another weary sigh.
"So I accepted the visions for what they were, a means to save myself. From then on, I did whatever it took to survive."
His voice faded, but the countless emotions lingering in his reddened eyes spoke louder than words.
Silas remained silent, carefully studying his friend while piecing together everything Darius had left unsaid.
"So... you already saw what would happen during the admission test?"
He had suspected as much before, but now he was almost certain.
After all, when Silas tried to recall the events properly, he was absolutely sure that Darius approached him first, not only once, but twice.
"...Yes."
Darius had dreaded this question more than anything. He had hidden this truth from Silas since the day they met, and now there was no point concealing it any longer.
"It started shortly after we became Enhancers. I saw my own death during the admission test... and I saw you."
He drew a slow breath before revealing the rest.