Extra's Supremacy: Rise of the Forgotten Background Character-Chapter 233: Chat With The Trickster [3]

"Are you… perhaps one of the Transmigrators?"

The moment I asked, Trickster went still and for a brief second, he stared at me as if genuinely dumbfounded and then he burst into laughter.

"Me…? A transmigrator…?" He held his stomach, as though even laughing had become painful. "My dear successor, I am far from being one of those as I existed in this world long before this civilization even took its first proper step."

Hmm, so he wasn't a transmigrator who somehow transmigrated far into the past and became a God.

That's a good thing I guess.

So I decided to ask the question I had suspected from the very beginning.

"Don't tell me… are you me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

It was a logical thought.

I felt an odd sense of trust toward him and if that wasn't because of some skill or myth he possessed, then maybe… Maybe it was because he had once been me.

…Though, I doubted I would ever stoop to whatever level this guy was on but then, Trickster's expression turned serious and his smile froze.

"How…? How did you find that out?" His voice lost all playfulness. "You weren't supposed to know… at least not at this point."

"No… no… no, I need to erase your memories now."

His words made my heart pound.

Was that real…?

Was he actually me…?

But then my expression twisted into a frown.

"Tsk… can't you answer seriously even once?"

It took me a whole full moment to realize that the bastard was joking. Even a toddler would suspect that possibility and I had merely asked a question, if he truly didn't want me to know, he would've responded differently instead of practically giving it away.

Which meant…

He had been messing with me.

His smile returned as he looked at me with his half-distorted face.

"No, I am not you from some distant future or forgotten past, my successor." He muttered. "That would have been far too boring an outcome, don't you think?"

What the…?

Is this guy calling me boring?

"Who are you calling boring, huh?" I shot back.

He chuckled softly and explained calmly.

"I'm not calling you boring. I'm saying the outcome of you being me is boring as a narrative and if this were a story… I wouldn't even bother reading it."

I shook my head but didn't follow it anymore because there was something more important to ask and I could feel time running out as his body was increasingly growing transparent.

"What did you mean earlier when you said everything had shifted beyond your control…?"

Trickster looked up at the sky.

"I had foreseen a possibility long ago but from what I can see now… that possibility is no longer viable and even the novel you followed can no longer be trusted, not that you should have trusted it in the first place."

His calm eyes returned to me, his face still smiling like a fool.

"So what I'm saying is this… trust only yourself, Rael because even the things you believe you understand have become far more complicated than they were ever meant to be."

"What do you mean?" I asked immediately.

But that bastard only chuckled.

"I would have loved to stay for some more time and tease you a bit more but it seems my time to vanish is here..."

Trickster's body began dissolving into particles of light but before he disappeared completely, his expression turned faintly melancholic as he looked at me.

"Don't repeat my mistakes, Rael and if you ever meet the one who taught me, which I'm certain you will one day, give him a nice little whack for me."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

"Though that might be impossible for you as he will be far stronger… and far more arrogant than I am."

He bowed like a magician finishing his final act.

"In any case, stay alive, Rael… and always stay smiling." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

With those last words and a loud last chuckle, his body vanished completely as the scenes around me shifted as well.

I didn't know why but I could feel something within me shifting slightly just like it did with every meeting I had with him.

He didn't give me much information, nor did he grant me any miraculous powers but I had to admit, no matter how annoying that guy was, I couldn't help but trust him.

But in a world where even trust could be induced by skills and myths, I didn't know how much I could trust it.

Meanwhile, the memory landscape began dissolving bit by bit as I could see far into the distance, the Trickster's shadow he had left behind a while ago was vanishing alongside little Winter, as Eidolon's eyes slowly turned lifeless.

He patted Winter, who cried violently, with a smile.

Only once the Trickster's shadow vanished completely with Winter did Eidolon's body collapse onto the ground lifelessly and yet his face held a wide smile as if death wasn't worth noting as long as his son was alive.

But the moment his body touched the ground everything turned into a pitch-black void and then I saw a figure appear within the darkness, staring at me with confusion and awe in his eyes.

The man seemed familiar.

Why wouldn't he?

I mean after all, I was trapped inside his memories.

Eidolon.

He stood before me with a transparent body, most likely his soul, a thin golden thread emerging from his chest and connecting directly to mine.

"Who are you…?"

He muttered, his voice cautious.

"Are you the reaper, by any chance…?"

From his reaction alone, I was certain this guy had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe to him, it was probably like falling asleep at one moment, only to wake up here in front of a complete stranger with a golden thread connecting them.

Now normally, I was a humble, benevolent and respectful guy who knew to reply properly to elders especially those who could obliterate me with a sneeze using their demigod-level power but right now, I couldn't say a word because a status window was flickering in front of me… urging me not to focus on anything else but it.

I read it again and again but no matter how many times I did, it just didn't make sense.

[Do you wish to accept Eidolon as your Assistant?]

"What the fuck…?"

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could even control them, catching even Eidolon by surprise.