Roger Eikam believed in constellations. When he was little, his grandmother had taken him out under the night sky, pointing at the stars one by one, teaching him what Gemini was, what Leo was.
And the one Roger knew best was Scorpio.
Because his birthday fell within Scorpio's dates.
Yet he still didn't understand why these mysterious signs kept pointing him toward "Scorpio" again and again.
Was Scorpio some kind of hint? Did it carry some special meaning?
Roger genuinely couldn't make sense of it.
But then he took another step forward—fully entering the basement.
Suddenly, the door behind him slammed shut, as if it had closed on its own. No one pushed it. No one reached out to shut it. It simply closed by itself.
At first, Roger was confused. But when he saw the scenery around him begin to shift, he immediately understood the purpose—
It didn't want anyone to know the secret inside.
Outside, the elders and any other idle bystanders couldn't even get through the door, let alone see what was inside.
At that moment, when the elders stared into the doorway, all they could perceive was that Roger had vanished without warning. The door was tightly shut, the lock was intact, and there wasn't the slightest sign it had ever been opened.
Every elder was shaken. A living person had disappeared right in front of them, and they had no way to even trace where he went.
"Are we just too old…? Did we finally go blind?" they whispered to each other, completely clueless about what had happened.
But they understood one thing: they had touched a taboo.
The contents of that basement really were meant for Roger alone. When General Tybur had built that place, he never intended for them to see it. That was exactly why he'd been willing to entrust the key to them in the first place.
From start to finish, they were only keepers.
They had never had the right to overstep.
"Fine. Let's go back for now. When Roger returns, he'll tell us what happened."
With that, the elders all left one after another.
And at that very moment, inside the basement, Roger was lifted into the air—supported by a chair that had appeared out of nowhere.
While he was still stunned, the Parasite inside him—Kaneki Ken—suddenly turned into a centipede and crawled out through Roger's ear.
Because it looked like an insect, it was deeply unsettling to behold.
But Roger knew exactly what it was, so he didn't panic. He simply watched it crawl out, then even used his hand to guide it down, placing it onto the chair beside him.
"This is the entrance to traversing the myriad worlds," Kaneki Ken said.
The centipede's tiny eyes scanned the surroundings with extreme caution.
"But there's nothing here. Aside from lifting me into the air, I can't see anything else. And this star map beside me—Scorpio—what does it mean? What does it symbolize? Do you know?" Roger asked.
"If I interpret it my way… Scorpio's meaning should represent plunder."
"Plunder?"
"Yes—plunder. In my original world, I once made time to read a few astrology books, so I know a bit about the notes they attach to constellations. Scorpio's meaning is 'the plunderer.' There are other explanations too, but that's the only one I remember."
"I didn't think you'd have the leisure to read astrology books."
"That was all in the past. Back then, I even read a book that was written in an extremely strange way—and I admired that author deeply. It's just…"
"Just what?"
"Just… she's the one who turned me into this. Otherwise, I would've stayed an ordinary person—just some nameless high school student quietly going to class."
"What's so good about being ordinary? If you're going to live, then live as someone extraordinary. In the world we have now, if you don't have power, you'll only be stepped on—treated like a prisoner for your whole life. Is that what you want?"
"Of course not. That's why I finally realized how cruel the world is and pushed my abilities much higher. But I never expected there would always be someone stronger—someone beyond the sky. In the end, I was still judged by Dior and the others. Now that you've completely killed Dior… it's like you've shattered my inner demon. To repay you, I'm willing to follow you for life—until you die."
"You're clever," Roger said. "I only have a few years left before I die. When that happens, no matter what, I won't be able to command you anymore, and you'll be free."
"Not necessarily."
"Oh?"
"The great myriad worlds contain everything. Among the countless worlds out there, you can find more ways to become immortal—to extend your Titan power for a thousand generations, ten thousand generations. It all depends on whether you dare to do it."
"You mean… you want me to plunder other worlds—be a villain?"
Kaneki Ken answered with certainty, "You're sharp. You grasped the meaning of plunder that quickly. Yes. That's exactly what your father wanted to tell you. And the memories in your mind have already marked you out—you're that kind of person. You are destined to bring disaster to the myriad worlds."
"And what if I don't?" Roger asked.
"You will. Sooner or later. If not now, then later."
Kaneki Ken sounded absolutely sure.
Roger stared at the centipede in his hand for a long time.
If he was being honest, yes—he truly wanted to do it.
But that was the him from before.
The him now still had the thought, but he wouldn't act on it lightly.
Not out of hesitation—out of thinking it through more carefully.
"I admit you're right," Roger said. "But I don't agree with plunder. I won't dress it up and claim I'm invading other worlds for the happiness of all people. In my dictionary, invasion is invasion, and a sinner is a sinner. I won't be shameless… but I also won't be overly cowardly. Once we obtain the power of immortality, we will withdraw immediately and stop harassing them."
"HAHAHAHAHA!!" Kaneki Ken laughed wildly. "I've seen plenty of people who boast like that. You're the most relaxed and poetic of them all. Roger—compared to before, you've gained a little more hypocrisy. But that may not be a bad thing!"
After saying that, Kaneki Ken couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. He burst apart into fragments and drilled back into Roger's body.
He didn't believe that someone who gained power would keep their original heart—would refuse to bully others.
He'd never seen such a person, and he didn't believe one existed.
Flames burned in Roger's eyes. When he said something, he meant it.
To those who treated him well, he would respond with courtesy.
To those who treated him badly, he would annihilate them.
That was his principle.
No matter how others judged him, he would do it—single-minded, without distraction.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.