MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 697: Guilt

Silence stretched once again between the two men after Klaus had told Anthony about Vega’s impending Bloodline Awakening. Two men stood there, men who were anything but ordinary, men who were far too great for this universe itself, men whom destiny and fate could neither bind nor bend.

They were two humans who had climbed to the very Pinnacle of the galaxy, standing where only legends dared to exist. And yet... despite their greatness, despite their transcendence above common mortals, they both bore an invisible but crushing weight upon their hearts.

One bore it for his beloved daughter.

The other bore it for his cherished lover.

”It seems I have burdened you with my troubles. Sometimes, I forget that you are just nineteen years of age, barely a man, the same age as my daughter,” Klaus finally spoke, his voice slicing through the heavy silence that had settled earlier.

Anthony did not respond immediately. His eyes lingered on the vast skies, reflecting both sorrow and helplessness. The rhythm of his heartbeat shifted with melancholy at the thought of not being there for Vega in her most crucial moment. And yet, though his heart felt heavy, his face remained calm and composed, betraying none of the turmoil that raged inside.

”Vega and I have been dating for a few months now,” Anthony said at last, his tone calm but firm, ”and throughout those months, we have supported each other, shared our joys and moments of laughter. But we have never faced a true trial together. Now, for the first time, she faces a problem of monumental importance, a crisis that will shape her very existence, and I cannot be of any help when she needs me most.”

He paused, the words pressing heavily upon his tongue before continuing, ”Although I cannot truly fathom the depth of pain and sorrow you feel, I wish to say that I understand at least a fragment of it. After all, I can imagine what it is like to possess the means to help someone you love, only to be denied the chance to use it because of one’s own weakness.”

Klaus instantly understood the meaning behind Anthony’s words. His sharp eyes narrowed, shifting from the galaxy’s endless brilliance outside to the boy standing beside him. His gaze bore deep into Anthony’s, as though searching for the truth hidden beneath.

”You have a way to help?” Klaus asked swiftly, his tone urgent, his words pressing forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. ”Tell me. Even if you cannot use it, my power may be sufficient to bridge the gap. Do not hold back from me now.”

But Anthony only shook his head slowly, his voice calm though tinged with quiet frustration. ”If that were possible, Klaus... I would have suggested it in the first place.”

A flicker of hope that had flared in Klaus’s eyes vanished instantly, extinguished like a flame smothered by cold winds. His shoulders sank slightly, and the years of exhaustion weighed visibly upon him once more. He had seen hope rise and die countless times over the past two decades, and this was merely another cruel reminder.

The man released a long, weary sigh as his gaze drifted back to the outer galaxy, the brilliance of countless stars reflecting faintly in his eyes. Silence once again claimed them both, vast and unyielding, as they stood still in their own quiet despair.

Though fate and destiny could not control them, at this very moment it felt as though those two great concepts mocked them, mocked them for daring to go against the design laid out by creation itself.

Klaus, who possessed the Primordial Human Bloodline, was shackled by the cruel irony that his beloved wife was bound to the Supreme Human Bloodline.

Now, Anthony, he who bore the Perfect Human Bloodline, found himself facing the same cruel jest of destiny. His lover, Vega, was on the verge of being shackled to the Supreme Human Bloodline, just like her mother before her.

Although there existed a chance, however slim, that she could awaken either the Perfect or even the Primordial Human Bloodline, both Anthony and Klaus knew the reality. The probability of Vega awakening the Supreme Human Bloodline was astronomically high, far beyond reason, and almost inevitable.

Anthony’s heart clenched as his thoughts wandered to Amara, Vega’s mother.

’Would she feel guilt and anguish every waking day, as her daughter’s twentieth birthday drew nearer?’ he thought to himself.

He did not even need to ask the question aloud. He knew the answer. Among all of them, Amara probably bore the greatest pain. As the possessor of the Supreme Human Bloodline herself, she knew that her daughter’s fate was almost bound by it. How could she not blame herself? How could she not despise her own existence for shackling her daughter’s future? Two decades of relentless searching, two decades of sleepless nights, and yet she had come up empty-handed.

Anthony exhaled quietly. It seems that no matter how strong one becomes, no matter how wealthy, there will always remain burdens too heavy to carry alone.

He knew that in the future, when his strength matured, he would possess the ability to upgrade Vega’s bloodline rank with ease. But that thought did not bring him comfort.

He was not satisfied with the idea of ”later.”

What about the next crisis?

What if another urgent situation arose, one that demanded his help immediately? Would he once again be forced to wait until some distant future, until he had grown strong enough to intervene? Was he destined to always fall short until tomorrow came?

Anthony released a heavy mental sigh, one that weighed on his spirit. For the first time since his reincarnation, he felt truly inadequate. He felt that he had not worked hard enough, that he had squandered his time. The countless hours he had wasted gossiping on the internet, playing games, watching movies, what if he had used them to cultivate instead? If he had dedicated himself wholly, would he have been strong enough now to stand by Vega’s side and help her at this very crucial moment?

But as that poisonous thought began to take root within his heart and mind, Anthony crushed it instantly before it could grow into something permanent, something capable of warping him into a hollow husk.

He took pride in balance.

He was not like those other reincarnators, those who, upon being reborn, transformed into training-obsessed fanatics, forsaking all companionship and joy, isolating themselves as lone wolves. He despised that mindset, that illusion that one’s original self must vanish the moment reincarnation took place.

To Anthony, the journey mattered as much as the destination. What use was there in climbing to the top if one could not enjoy the path leading to it? Such a life would reduce one into nothing more than a slave to power, shackled to an endless hunger that could never be satisfied. And Anthony had sworn, he would never walk that road.

’I’m sorry, Vega,’ Anthony thought quietly.

Though she could not hear his apology, it did not matter. Even if she stood before him at this moment, she would not understand the depth of his sorrow. She knew nothing of the heavy burden her parents carried, nor of the weight that Anthony now shared with them.

’Should I tell her?’ the thought crept into his mind.

Anthony had never been the type to keep secrets from Vega. In fact, the only truth he had ever concealed was related to his reincarnation. Beyond that, he had kept nothing from her. There had been moments when he even entertained the idea of telling her the truth of his rebirth, though he would, of course, withhold the existence of the system. Reincarnation itself was not exactly rare, but in the end, he decided against it.

Still, he had never been one to hide anything, no matter how small, from her.

Yet now, to reveal the bloodline dilemma to her would be a betrayal of the trust Klaus had placed in him. That, Anthony could not bring himself to do.

He sighed once more, forgetting how many times he had already sighed within the past few minutes. Each sigh carried the weight of helplessness, of sorrow, and of a longing to be stronger than he was.