It was as if the very life was getting sucked out of .
The mont the sword pierced, and blood spilled out, I felt a massive wave of weakness as the mana inside of my ’body’ began to fade completely.
I felt my form slowly begin to fade in the process as I struggled to hold still.
’Hold on. Keep steady. Hold on...!’
At that mont, I wasn’t truly a body of flesh and blood. What I inhabited was more like a shell ford entirely of mana, holding my shape together and sustaining my movents. It mimicked my appearance well enough, but beneath the surface, there was no warmth, no heartbeat. Just... raw and pure energy.
But with that being said, it wasn’t as simple as that.
I could still carry items with , and I could use all of my abilities. It was an ability that defied common sense, one I could barely comprehend myself, as I tightened my grip around the sword in my hand, feeling the mana fading rapidly from my body.
".....!?"
Julien’s body began to tremble before .
His eyes were wide open, his face pale as confusion marred his features.
"Ukhe!"
Only sounds escaped his mouth in the end.
He was never able to utter a single thing as I focused all of my attention on the sword as it glowed in the room. The soul trapped within slowly started to infuse itself into the body as it quietly accepted it.
’Right... His body already contains my blood inside.’
Julien had ’drunk’ it in the past. It was during the gold mine incident. I rember clearly giving him the vial that contained my blood. Back then, I didn’t really have a full picture of the situation, but it was clear now.
That was all preparation for this mont.
Noel was the one to have arranged it, and with it, the Chalice was also handed to Leon.
With my blood flowing through him, slipping my old soul into his body beca effortless. His eyes widened in horror, saliva spilling past his lips as his body convulsed. He thrashed violently, his pale face twisted with shock and disbelief.
Yet, no matter how fiercely he fought, it was aningless. His struggle held no weight against what was already decided.
Thump!
His head fell onto the table shortly after.
The surroundings fell into a state of total silence as I stared at the scene before without saying a word. I felt extrely weak, and I could barely keep myself standing.
However, I knew that things weren’t over yet.
’...Right, my mories.’
I understood the reason why I had to erase my mories.
No, not just erase. I had to alter them slightly.
It was all to protect . From the knowledge that slowly consud my mind due to the powers that I held.
This was the reason why I had died in the past, and also the reason why I had to erase my mories.
Thankfully, I already knew the perfect thod. Reaching into the air, I pulled out a small vial filled with a thick red liquid, its surface glinting faintly under the dim light.
I took a deep breath at the sight.
Noel’s blood...
Looking at the current state of ’Julien’ and seeing all of the blood that was leaking out of his body, I understood that this was my only choice. At this rate, he was going to die.
’Ha... ha.’
At the sa ti, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I was suddenly reminded of a certain incident in the past. It was one where I found myself trapped inside a certain cult. Back then, I didn’t understand the aning behind such a situation, but it beca extrely clear to now.
In a way, that was a ssage. Or more like... a clue.
A clue regarding the effects of Noel’s blood on , and what I needed to do with it.
Drip! Drip—!
I spilled the blood onto the body.
Twitch!
Imdiately, the body began to twitch as I could feel the soul slowly starting to assimilate with the body. At the sa ti, I used the ring to alter the mories a tiny bit. Not by much, just a tiny bit.
The process wasn’t difficult, taking less than a few seconds, since it involved only minor changes.
But it still wasn’t over.
I took out a small mirror from my dinsional space and held it in front of . Mana drained deeper from within my body as I worked to seal Julien’s soul inside the body. Unfortunately, with my mana running so low, the seal wasn’t as tight as it should have been.
But it was still enough as the main soul started to take over.
And not long after—
"Ukhh!"
A light groan escaped the body not long after.
"I’m... alive?"
His voice ca out hoarse.
As his eyes shot open, I heard an audible ’gulp’ as he stared blankly at the area before him.
"This..."
He was most likely looking at the ’system’.
I hadn’t fully realized it until this mont, but the system was sothing that had been arranged by my past self. It was bound deep within my soul, just like the four‑leaf clover that rested there as well.
"How is this possible...?"
Hearing the words of surprise coming from , I looked at myself.
I looked so lost and confused...
Staring at him, my lips quivered as I struggled to stay still. The mana inside my body had been almost completely drained as I accidentally staggered back.
Clank—!
"...!"
A sudden noise jolted through as I backed into sothing, knocking sothing by accident. Oh, shit...! The sound echoed faintly, and almost imdiately, a head snapped in my direction.
His eyes scanned in my direction with incredible tension, and for a mont, it almost felt as though our gazes t.
But then—
"...No one?"
He eventually pulled his gaze away, a frown marring his features.
"Looks like I—Ukh...!"
A scream echoed from out of his chest not long after.
"Akkh...!"
His screams echoed so loudly that I had no choice but to cast a small barrier to block out the noise he was causing as his body started to shake and spasm.
"Ha... Akh...! What the...!"
It was also at that mont that he finally took notice of the sword jutting out from his chest.
"H... How?!"
Staring at him, I silently cursed inside my mind.
’I’m still not done yet.’
The soul had yet to fully bind with the body. Clenching my teeth, I moved forward and held onto the sword, piercing the sword deeper into ’my’ chest.
Surprisingly, no screams followed my action.
The pain must have been too much for my old self to bear, but I pushed on, pouring every ounce of mana in my body into the sword.
Drip! Drip!
Blood trickled down, staining the floor beneath. Like the repetitive tick of a clock, the blood persistently trickled down the ground. I listened to the sound as I watched ’my’ face pale.
"Haa... aha..."
Seeing that he was just about to pass out, I stopped and staggered back.
"H-haa..."
Drip! Drip!
The faint dripping sound continued to echo in the background as I tried my best to recover myself.
’Not... yet. Not yet...’
I wasn’t done yet.
Taking out Noel’s blood, I was just about to pour it on the ground, when—
"Is... this what hell feels like?"
I froze on the spot, my mind blanking upon hearing my words.
"I-t feels like shit."
The words were enough to make pause for a mont.
Hell...
Was this truly hell?
I used to think like this in the past, but was that really the case anymore?
Sizzle~!
A sharp sizzling sound echoed through the air. I watched as ’my’ eyes widened, the body jerking violently. That was when my gaze shifted down to the forearm, where a tattoo had suddenly appeared.
’So, it’s that...’
Moving closer to my old self, I pressed down quietly onto his shoulder and used my emotive magic to keep him calm.
At the sa ti, I started to pour my emotive magic onto him.
’Fear’, and ’Sadness’.
These were the main emotions that I poured onto myself.
’I need to be desperate.’
In order for to survive with no mories, I needed to establish a sense of desperation within my body. This beca clear to from the cult situation. Because I wasn’t ’desperate’ enough, I wasn’t able to act like I did at the start.
Without that ’desperation’, I’d turn into a completely different person.
Once again, the situation beca clear to .
All of it...
It was all foreshadowing and clues for this one mont.
"....A tattoo?"
As my old self noticed the tattoo on his arm, I began to look around before taking out the remainder of the blood and pouring it on the ground. The tattoo glowed faintly for a brief mont.
It was also in that specific mont that his eyes widened in shock.
The world seed to freeze. Noel’s blood began to move against reason, the pool beneath him reversing as though ti itself was unwinding. Slowly, it climbed, defying gravity, and returned to his body.
"...Uh."
The elaborate blood patterns woven on his forearm began to shift and retract, seamlessly returning to his chest, where the sword appeared. At the sa ti, I reached for the sword and slowly began to pull it back.
’Last push.’
Thankfully, drawing the sword out was easier than driving it in. It only took a few seconds before I managed to pull it free.
Clank—!
The sword dropped to the ground not long after as I turned my attention towards the door. My heart raced the mont it did as a purple orb appeared in my mind, and I phased through the wall of the room, coming out of it and fixing my gaze on the gray-eyed figure that was approaching the room.
He was a lot younger, but it was without a doubt Leon.
’No, not yet.’
I pressed my hand forward and grabbed onto Leon’s face. He froze on the spot a mont later, his face blanking for a mont as I used my emotive magic on him.
Despite my best attempt at holding back, Leon’s body began to tremble at my action, his face paling.
’Oh, shit...’
I held on like this for the next minutes before finally letting go of him as he paused, his hand reaching for his head.
"W-what...? What just...?"
He looked confused at first, but after a short mont, he managed to recover as he opened the door.
Clank!
"Young Master."
That mont marked the mont when my fateful encounter with Leon occurred.
Staring at the scene in silence, I rubbed my head.
’...Did I go too hard on him?’
Leon’s face was a little pale because of my actions. I felt a little sorry, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything big.
The scene played out as I rembered in the past.
And it was as the two left the room and passed that I recalled sothing.
’Oh, right.’
I looked at Leon and then the younger version of .
Back then, I did notice that his face was pale...
I pursed my lips.
’I guess that makes sense.’
I rubbed the bridge of my nose, shaking my head while walking back into the room, and settling my gaze onto the fourth leaf.
’Should be almost ti for to return as well.’
I had done everything that I needed to do.
***
For those confused :
The reference Chapters are :
- 3, and the first part of Chapter 4
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