Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 469: Please!!!

Chapter 469 – Please!!!

A sharp, ringing chime from The Will made Kaden blink. Before him, a black panel—unlike the normal varieties—flashed into view.

His gaze sharpened. Dread started as a tiny seed in his belly, exploding into a towering tree the instant he glanced at the alerts.

[You have learned the First Rule of the Malan Village: Never Touch the Tower.]

[Obey the rules to keep strong ties with the Malan tribesmen.]

[Disregarding the rules brings harsh punishment from the Shaman of the Malan tribesmen.]

The alerts vanished. Kaden stared ahead in a stupor, his eyes glazed over with bewilderment at the sudden turn.

His mind whirled in chaotic loops, while his endurance—the force that had carried him through recent burdens—frayed to its breaking point.

‘Is The Will toying with me?’ he snarled to himself.

Indeed, no other reason made sense. The Will itself had assigned the mission to conquer the Tower. Yet now, in cruel jest, a rule barred him from even laying a finger on it.

Contradictory demands. Rendering the Quest utterly unattainable.

‘Only if you insist on selfishness.’ Reditha interjected in his head, halting his furious spiral abruptly.

Kaden scowled. ‘Selfish now, am I?’

‘You know better. That’s not your true self.’

‘Precisely why I deserve to be.’ He growled, worn out already. ‘I’ve sacrificed endlessly—shielding others as a meat barrier, absorbing fallout from their deeds—for far too long. Just once, Reditha. Just damn once. Can’t I put myself first? Can’t I prioritize me?’

‘I’d cheer you on first if it were feasible, Kaden, you know that,’ she murmured softly. ‘Sense me within you. Sense my emotions. Am I mocking you? Gleeful? No. No, Kaden. I ache as well. But for all you cherish...’

Kaden balled his hands into fists.

‘...don’t pick yourself,’ she pleaded in deep torment, knowing full well the horror she urged upon him. ‘Ignore your heart and select what your beloved would desire for herself.’

‘A beloved who’ll cease to be mine if I comply,’ he shot back.

Oh, Kaden... don’t you see? No matter what, she won’t remain yours.

Reditha longed to voice it. She swallowed the words.

‘That’s... not who you are,’ she concluded at last. ‘Recall your Myth’s essence. Recall how you claimed it.’

Kaden went quiet, unwilling to continue. Still, he realized the talk couldn’t end here; eventually, he’d face the path ahead and pick a direction.

Prometheus was gone. The Harvester was absent. Asclepius had vanished.

None of those traits, none of those identities, helped now. For in this instant, Kaden embodied none of them.

Right now, he was merely Kaden Warborn, a betrothed man teetering on the brink of forfeiting his fiancée to raw power, to the sacred right of self-determination others wielded over their destinies—not imposed by strangers.

Perhaps that explained the agony.

‘I... I really—!’

"Traveler!"

Kaden’s focus sharpened instantly. Pandora gazed up at him, her crimson eyes brimming with worry and remorse.

"Did I make you angry?" she inquired timidly, then bowed deeply beyond ninety degrees. "I’m sorry! Truly sorry, Traveler! Please don’t be mad at me! You’re the only one who’ll speak to Pandora!"

Grief thickened her voice. Not overwhelming, but its sincerity evoked a subtle echo of Rea in Kaden... or maybe Woeful. Difficult to distinguish.

He creased his brow faintly.

"But these are the village rules. I had to warn you. Though..." she paused suddenly, peered around cautiously, then whispered slyly into his ear,

"I think it’s a dumb rule, Traveler! I want to go into the Tower but can’t! Dumb folks! Dumb Shaman!"

"What?" Kaden blurted, truly startled. "Why do you want to enter the Tower?"

The question escaped him involuntarily, sparked by the girl’s haunting likeness to the Saintess. Yet at specific angles, with particular expressions...

‘She reminds me of Rea.’ Kaden decided, more puzzled than ever. ‘Pandora, she called herself. Correct?’

To preserve Rea’s current state, he needed the Ring of Pandora from within the Tower.

‘Connected somehow? Clearly. But in what way? And for what reason?’

And upon reflection...

‘Wasn’t Pandora among the Wonders?’

The very Pandora that once drew a wary glance from Anthropologist during their initial encounter, probing why the name didn’t faze him—Kaden had replied he’d known a girl named Dora, short for Pandora, from some village...

A girl. Pandora. In...

Kaden surveyed his surroundings deliberately, eyes growing wide.

His pulse thundered like savage war drums. A profound realization bubbled up, poised to illuminate his thoughts.

He shut his eyes tight, teetering on the cusp of discovery. An elusive truth beckoned, urging him to seize it.

Pandora’s cheerful, birdlike voice shattered his concentration then.

"I don’t know!" She declared, clearly eased that the Traveler held no grudge. "I just crave entering the Tower. Pandora’s dreamed of it since childhood."

"...you’re still a child." Kaden grumbled, irritation from the interrupted epiphany seeping into his words.

Pandora took no offense. She beamed and giggled, secretly delighted by the playful jab—a fresh sensation.

"You’re hilarious, Traveler!" She exclaimed, clutching his arm tighter. "Come on, please! I’ll take you to my favorite play spot!"

"I’ve got no time for games. Take me to—!"

"Please! Just peek! You’ll love it!"

"I said no—!"

"Please!!!!"

"Are you de—!"

"I beg you!!!!!"

"Blood and ashes, let me complete a damn sentence!!"

"Will you agree?" Pandora queried, cocking her head adorably while hauling him along with surprising force.

"No—!"

"Then pardon me, Traveler! I’ll heed you once you say yes!"

‘Girl... you’re already pulling me along.’ Kaden mused, stunned, momentarily pondering if this was the plight of the powerless.

‘As if you’ve never been mighty.’ Reditha teased lightly.

‘Reditha.’ Kaden warned silently.

‘I’ll hush?’

‘Yes. Please. Be silent.’

‘Such rudeness...’

"Onward, Traveler!!" Pandora shouted with boundless energy.

"Argh... my head. My cursed head."

—End of Chapter 469—