I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"Big bro? Big bro!" yelled Julius, his panicked eyes darting over his brother's body. Fortunately, his ethereal frame wasn't flickering, causing his tense muscles to relax a little. Yet, he knew something terrible must have happened after witnessing the cracked sigil.

Fear flickered in his eyes. "What did you do?" he muttered, his lips curling into a bitter smile. They had promised to return the sigil in pristine condition. But not only was it on the verge of collapse, he couldn't feel any energy coming from it. The archaic medal was no different from a decorative ornament found in markets.

"We need to escape, or we're dead," he said, his face paling as he imagined how the emperor would deal with them after seeing his precious item ruined.

Panic overwhelmed his reason for a brief moment before he shook his head. Then, he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, taking deep breaths to restore his inner harmony according to the sutra's teaching. Acting in haste would be a mistake. He knew it. Thus, he calmed down before doing anything rash.

With the adepts guarding the fortified chamber, he would die before taking ten steps. The only solution he could think of was to restore the sigil enough to dupe them.

'I'll meld the sides to fill the cracks first,' he thought, channelling fire Qi in his meridians to heat the medal. Then, he busied himself for twenty minutes to repair its appearance.

The result didn't satisfy him, but he did his best. Next, he knocked on the door to attract their supervisors' attention.

"What? You still have an hour and a half before the limit," snorted a guard through the door's sliding window, clearly displeased about his mission.

With a short cough to fix his voice, the boy answered, "We are done. I'm sure you have more meaningful missions to accomplish. So, we did our best to end faster."

Suspicion flashed in the adept's eyes as he scanned the duo. However, seeing Julius' bright smile and glistening eyes, he tucked his fingers around his chin. "You're right. Monitoring two brats is below me. Hand the sigil and return to play with dirt." His belittling words found their audience as the other adepts laughed before he unlocked the door.

His heart as calm as a lake, Julius complied with the instruction. It was a do-or-die situation, and he couldn't let his emotions betray him. Yet, a genuine smile spread across his face as he remembered his brother's words. 'He was right four years ago. I need to train my poker face for these moments,' he thought, recalling his grimaces in the Riverwood manor.

Silently, the guard pocketed the sigil without scrutinising it since it was the first time he saw it. Instead, he scanned the room to confirm a ritual had undoubtedly taken place in the chamber.

Old symbols covered the ground in patterns he had never seen before. Yet something bothered him. "Why can't I feel any mana fluctuation?" He asked the boy, confusion and suspicion mixing in his eyes.

"Oh..." Julius started, lowering his head bitterly. "We failed since the beginning," he said, pointing his finger towards Adam. "He even lost consciousness. I wanted to try again after he recovered. But even after nine hours, he is still in this state," he added, letting a trace of his inner turmoil filter through his face to make his lies more believable.

"Meaning you waste our time?" Asked the guard, frowning in anger.

"I'm sorry... he paid a heavy price already, and I only want to return to the college to heal him," he answered, covering his eyes with his forearm. If not for the catastrophic situation, he would have really cried, making his expression flawless.

"Tsk. Follow me," the guard said, a disdainful grimace covering his face. Then, he navigated the corridors, guiding the duo to the familiar garden.

Upon seeing their arrival, the priest swiftly walked to them with a smile. "I assume you met failure," he said, an empathetic smile tugging at his lips. "It's difficult to manipulate such a powerful item," he added before extending his hand to receive Elena's ritual.

Understanding, Julius retrieved a thick stack of handwritten documents from his uniform's inner pocket. "I'm sorry my brother can't deliver them himself," he said before asking many questions about the capital's culture.

Confused by the boy's sudden interest, the priest raised a brow. Then, he pointed his finger at the Gate and smiled. "I'll answer the best I can on the way," he said, walking towards the towering construct while explaining why the houses were flat, how the emperor ruled, or what specialties the citizens ate.

"Your passion flatters me," he said, activating the structure under the guard's eyes. "Next time you visit, I'll appoint a guide to help you discover the city," he added, patting the boy's shoulder.

"Thank you, sir!" Julius answered, beaming a smile before walking towards the forming mana veil.

The next moment, the priest watched their guest disappear. Then, he turned to the guard, his face hardening. "Show me the sigil," he ordered, his warm demeanor gone.
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Using mana, he retrieved the archaic medal with squinted eyes. He wanted to check it earlier, but the boy's sudden enthusiasm distracted him. He now understood his purpose. Unfortunately, they had to prepare for the worst and didn't have time to chase him down; otherwise, he would have crossed the Gate himself to bring the little scammer back.

"We are dead," he said, clenching his fist as he highlighted the faint cracks clumsily hidden by Julius.

Before the guard could recover from his shock, he continued, "Relay my orders. Gather every able mage in the temple. Activate every layer of mana barrier around the city and escort the citizens to the underground shelters."

Stunned, the guard's hands trembled. "W-what are we going to face?" He asked, his voice filled with trepidation.

The priest lingered, his pupils constricting in despair. "The magus," he said, his soft voice thundering in the adept's ears like a death penalty.

However, he didn't have time to waste explaining more. His legs bulged as he raced to the throne hall to warn his emperor.