Chapter 411 Truth Beneath the Lies Part 6
THUD!
Her body collapsed in the bed, and she was barely conscious after the whole ordeal.
"Do it," he commanded.
Chains burst from his chest, snaking out and latching onto her.
Aika's eyes widened in fear.
"W—What are you doing?" she asked weakly, feeling a strange, pulling sensation on her very soul.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Reign's lips curled into a sadistic smile. "I'm devouring you,"
As he spoke, the chains began to tighten and pull.
Slowly, a dark red phantom began to emerge from Seki's body, struggling against the chains.
Panic spread across her face.
"NO!" she screamed, realizing too late what he intended to do.
The phantom twisted and writhed as it was dragged further from her, while her strength continued to be drained away.
"STOP! Her screams grew desperate, but he remained unmoved.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to devour your mother too. That way, you can have a family reunion inside me." he taunted.
But his words had a disastrous effect.
Her soul suddenly flared with a bright light, and the chains started to tremble from the pressure.
"YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED TO ME! YOU LIED TO ME!" she wailed in anger.
"Damn it!" Reign cursed, realizing his mistake.
He tried to signal the system to stop the process, but before he could act, her soul lunged directly into his body.
[SYSTEM: WARNING!]
[SYSTEM: WARNING!]
[SYSTEM: WARNING!]
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"Fuck my life!" he cursed aloud as he found himself standing in a pitch-black space.
'I should have listened to the system!'
Now, he understood that the warning wasn't just for show. His greed had led him into trouble.
"System!" he called out, but there was no response.
"System!"
"System!"
Still, no response.
"Why are you screaming? Onii-san " a sweet, small voice echoed behind him.
He turned around and saw a familiar face.
It was Aika, glowing brightly in the darkness. She looked much younger and smaller right now.
She was wearing a dirty, worn-out white robe, and a metal collar was fastened tightly around her neck.
But that was not the most odd thing in this situation.
What really made him raised an eyebrow was his perspective.
She looked younger, but now he was only a few inches taller than her.
He felt uneasy and looked at his hand—it was thin and covered in injection marks.
'What's going on?' he muttered , touching his face and discovering how his cheeks were hollow and sunken from not getting enough food.
'Is this my real soul?'
"Onii-san? Hurry up, or they'll scold us again," Aika said with a scared voice, reaching out and pulling his hand.
"Wait," he tried to pull away, but found himself too weak to resist her.
As she ran, he stumbled awkwardly behind her, his fragile body struggling to keep up.
The darkness seemed endless, but eventually, they reached a tunnel with a bright light at the end.
When they emerged, he found himself in a stone chamber filled with people in tattered clothing.
They sat on the floor, looking lost and hopeless.
'Is this her memory? And what is this place?'
"Onii-san! Hurry up and kneel! The Priest is coming!" she insisted, pulling him down to the floor.
He followed her lead, just in time to see a metal door at the end of the chamber open.
Twelve people dressed in pristine black traditional eastern robes walked in, their presence commanding immediate attention.
The person in front, wearing a robe adorned with golden patterns that set it apart from the others, began pointing at different people, mostly women.
The rest of the group then started taking them away.
The victims were so hopeless that none of them even attempted to resist.
He recognized those faces; they were the same expressions he had before he transmigrated.
It was a look of complete resignation, where nothing seemed to matter anymore.
'Don't tell me...Is this place....?'
He turned to her.
Tears welled up in Aika's eyes as she watched the women being carried out of the chamber. Her gaze was filled with deep sadness.
For a moment, he felt a pang of pity in his heart, an emotion he thought he had long forgotten since becoming a monster.
But in this form, it was as if he had become human again, not just physically but emotionally as well.
'No, I can't let this affect me. This is just an illusion... This is not real.' he gritted his teeth, fighting against his own human side creeping back into him.
He had killed too many people and destroyed too many things. He was ruthless, psychopathic, cold, and crazy. He needed to stay that way to gain more power.
"Onii-san! They're gone," Aika's voice snapped him back from his wild thoughts.
"What tricks are you playing here?" he glared at her.
"Tricks?" she repeated, her face showing confusion.
"Oh, right, Onii-san! I got some bread from you. One of the guards gave it to me," she said, smiling widely.
She rummaged through her clothing and handed him a hard, moldy piece of bread.
"Stop playing!" he roared in anger, swatting the bread away.
As it hit the ground, the other prisoners' eyes widened, and they pounced on it, fighting over it like savage beasts.
'Why are they fighting for a molded bread? he thought, stunned and unable to believe what he was seeing.
They looked more like animals than people.
"O—Onii-san! Did Aika make you angry? Please don't leave me... Please don't leave me," she sobbed uncontrollably.
Reign stood still, watching as she cried and begged him not to leave. Her tears and fear hit him harder than he expected.
He felt a mix of guilt and confusion. This was not how he was supposed to feel at all. He was supposed to have no mercy.
It felt strange and very uncomfortable, something he wasn't used to.
He clenched his fists, trying to control his emotion.
"Stop crying," he said, his voice rough but softer than before. "I'm not going anywhere. Just... be quiet."