Lewd King's Bucket List-Chapter 61: A Marionette Dancing to a Dissonant Tune

’Lost them.’

Ixion had lost them. As if their souls disappeared from the face of Kaldora.

He’d returned Pirithous’ body to the home and scoured the city with his soul form, but found nothing. Eventually returning to his main body.

He did feel a terrible Soul Sickness. His brain was throbbing as if trying to burst from his skull.

But compared to Despair’s torture?

The pain. It was laughable.

***

When the Soul Sickness had mostly subsided, Ixion rolled out of bed and stumbled over to his desk, reminiscing about the day.

Not only could he cross something of No Regrets, but he’d finally found where Despair was.

If he found the bastard again under a different circumstance, maybe he could ask the questions he really wanted answered. And a more concrete answer on what Dia’s body was capable of as a replica of ’the key.’

Sadly, Ixion knew Despair had nothing to fear about Ixion’s puppeted forms. Despair would only ever talk to Ixion as an equal if it were his main body.

Ixion slumped down in the chair at the desk and unlocked the cabinet holding the list. He picked up the scroll, unrolled it, then crossed off number 15.

Ixion now knew what Despair had returned for...

’But, why?’

It wasn’t usable yet. And the only one who could fill it up was Ixion — at least that was supposed to be the case. No other person could interact with souls the way he could. That’s why he was ’the key.’

Besides, from what Sloth told Ixion, Despair’s plan shouldn’t involve the barrier, only Project Arc and the Portal.

So, what was Despair planning?

Not to mention...

’Dia’s age.’

The only thing Ixion had to go on.

Ixion was twenty-seven. Dia, if she told the truth, had just turned twenty.

Meaning, if she were Despair’s child, he was seventeen or sixteen when he had her.

’But, it doesn’t make sense.’

Before everything went to absolute shit, Despair and Ixion were quite close. It was inconceivable he’d hide a daughter from him.

’Unless...’

Had it been a lie all along?

’Despair.’

When did Despair change? Or had he ever changed?

Most importantly...

’I know the Wanderer of Fate approached Despair, but not when.’

What if she did so right after his mother died? Maybe even before.

Actually...

’That makes sense. Too much sense.’

There was something else pointing toward a harrowing truth.

’Dia...’

Dia, now that Ixion knew she might be Despair’s child... he could see a clear resemblance. But it wasn’t just a resemblance to Despair.

’She resembles the Wanderer of Fate as well.’

When the Wanderer of Fate approached Ixion, she kept her face veiled, but he could see from her chin down, including her thick light-blue hair, almost platinum like Dia’s.

Thinking back to when Dia was joking and feigning to kiss him, he remembered the look on those delicate lips well.

’This is insanity!’

If Ixion was right, then Dia’s father was Despair, and her mother was Sloth.

It was then obvious she wasn’t born out of anything close to love, as Ixion understood the concept.

’She’s another damned instrument of fate.’

One Sloth kept from Ixion. One sloth created with purpose.

’But what for?’

What was her intended role?

Well...

Ixion held his head in his hands.

’Our meeting was no accident.’

Someone had orchestrated it. Otherwise, it made no sense that anyone could escape from Despair, unless he let them go.

Or fate was on their side.

Either answer was terrifying for Ixion. It meant he’d be dancing to either Despair’s or Sloth’s dissonant tune.

Something he was already doing... but he was knowingly doing so at the moment. He didn’t like the idea that he was simply a marionette. One who was dancing to invisible strings while distracted by disconnected visible ones.

’Damn it!’

Ixion gritted his teeth and clutched his hair.

’I see.’

Ixion ran his hand over his head, then let go. The strands fell down and bashed into his open eye.

If it were Sloth. Sloth was giving Ixion a message that this girl existed.

’So, you want me to rescue her from Despair. Is that it?’

Maybe.

’Or perhaps you want me to kill her.’

Something else?

Ixion looked up at the ceiling, noticing a small crack. Through that crack, an eye was watching him. An eye Ixion recognized easily.

’Keeping an eye on me with one of your minions, Sloth, eh?’

When the watcher noticed they’d been spotted, they disappeared as if they had never been there.

Ixion put the No Regrets scroll back; his next goal was decided easily by his recent encounter.

He needed to become stronger.

Strong enough to combat Despair.

He could solve what to do about Dia from there.

To that end, he needed to perfect Soul Shatter and saturate his core. Yet, he could only saturate his core by leaving Catatran.

Something he wasn’t able to do yet.

But before any of that, he needed to go visit his nameless friend again. The only man other than him and Hope who could dare combat Despair. The man who seemed to know the answer to everything.

Not that he typically rattled off the answers. But going to the Nameless King was definitely a start.

He should also check up on Project Arc, since he only mentioned Project Miasma last time.

’Speaking about that terrible project...’

When would the nameless man need Ixion’s expertise?

Sure, the man was oddly attuned with the ability to see and sense them, but not interact — as far as Ixion knew, the one thing the man couldn’t touch and direct souls. And he definitely couldn’t stitch them together.

Ixion got up from his desk and sauntered over to his bed and plopped down, still nursing a slight headache.

As he rolled over on the silk sheets, he called out to the shadows:

"Zabaniyah, watch my body. Closely."

Then, he let his soul drift up and away from his body.

As he rose, he thought to himself:

’Where do the lies and truths begin?’