Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

Chapter 128  [Club House Competition] [16] [Inder and Azariah]

My head hurts!

The comfortable warmth that I was feeling a while ago instantly got cold as if someone snatched the blanket covering me.

The abnormal throbbing pain in my head felt unbearable as if someone was hitting my head with a hammer again and again.

What is happening?

In an attempt to alleviate the pain, I twisted my body but I couldn't even control my limbs, unable to move.

My eyes flared open as I looked around only to find nothing but an eerie darkness around me.

Is it a dream?

I wondered but I quickly dismissed that notion because my dreams have never been a complete darkness.

Having no clear sense of time, my mind wandered to random thoughts.

What happened after I lost consciousness?

Is everyone fine?

What about Oliver?

...Didn't he use the Eye of Horus even when I repeatedly told him not to?

...Fucking idiot.

The throbbing pain in my head slowly subsided, finally making me move my body, my vision blurring before something caught my eye.

...It was a silhouette—a disfigured silhouette of something that stood hundreds of meters tall in front of me.

Subconsciously, I looked up, shifting my gaze bit by bit.

I felt like a small animal gazing up at the mountains.

W-wait i-is that?

I felt inexplicably horrified as I looked at the top of the silhouette, where another silhouette was present, sitting at the top—clearer than the one below.

Her eyes made it eminently clear with no typical iris, pupil, or whites, only gem-toned green light that emanates from within.

She was gently illuminated by their lustrous glow, twined up into a slim headband, a single braid serving to draw her onyx hair back from her face.

Rising high above her slender, pale body were feathered wings of glossy onyx, arcing gracefully away from the muscles of her upper back.

Elegant hands were tipped with long, slender nails of glossy onyx, each sharpened to a perfect point.

Panic surged within me as I felt the figure moving slightly.

...She looked down, her eyes on me.

I lowered my gaze, unable to meet her eyes.

I felt weak, unworthy, and small in her presence, like a worm that she could kill with a flick of her fingers.

Huh?

My vision started to turn crimson, blood trickling down my eyes, nose, and mouth at the same time.

In an instant, thousands of murmurs, chants, and noises in an unrecognizable language started to engulf my mind.

It became louder and louder, making my mind blank and dizzy. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Crying that sounded like a late-night nightmare, a mother killing her infant child, a holy priest massacring a village, children eating each other—that's all I could decipher from the thousands of noises before my mind reached the brink of madness.

"Huff...Huff..."

But just as my mind reached its breaking point.

Two distinct energies pulsated from my body, bringing warmth and cold at the same time, making my mind calm down.

ROOOAAARR!!!

My vision cleared up as I heard a thunderous roar, so loud that it felt like my ears ruptured.

Gritting my teeth, I looked up only to find thousands of serene threads made of fire and ice wrapped tightly around the silhouette.

Both Muspelh and Neplh moved as if they had minds of their own, completely subduing the solitude.

The ominous energy that I felt from it also started to tone down as if it were being burned into nothingness.

'Does this thing have a will of its own?'

I wondered, noticing the solitude desperately trying to free itself from the confines.

Curious, I tried to look at that 'being'.

"Don't look at her." But my gaze halted as I heard a familiar voice, making me turn around.

"Inder." I mumbled, my voice filled with confusion, looking at the man with blue eyes and black hair staring at me.

My mind was still a mess from all that I had gone through in a short period of time, that I couldn't think properly.

"Take your time." He said, sitting down in nothingness.

"Where is this place?" I asked, feeling an urge to vomit, but my current state didn't allow me to.

"Your subconscious." He replied, gesturing for me to sit down as well.

I quietly sat down, glancing back at the silhouette, I questioned, "...What is that?"

"Do you remember Andarnaur?" He asked, his voice emotionless as ever.

"Yeah." I muttered, "...[Major Antagonist] of the prequel game."

"...The one who worked under Molech." He nodded his head gently as he looked at me, "...Remember what made him so special?"

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, replying solemnly, "He was blessed...By the Goddess of Corruption and Misfortune, Taishareth."

...She was the one who influenced the first mortal into murdering others.

....The one that can corrupt your mind with a single look of her.

...One of the two goddesses who influenced the birth of the first vampire.

...And one of the five [Primordial Evils].

...I never thought I would cross paths with her.

A weird sense of pain throbbed in my chest...like my heart being grabbed by an invisible hand.

"Worried about her?" Inder asked, making me look at him.

"No." I replied firmly, shaking my head, "But what did I actually see?"

"The thing that you saw...That's her divinity taken the shape of her, attached with the ring of Andarnaur."

He stated, his gaze still on me, "...That's the reason no one can fully fuse and use his powers...until now."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, frowning at his absurd words.

"...Looks like Ragnar was the one who killed him...Do you know what it means?" He swiftly changed the topic as he asked.

"...Audrey's event from the game happened in this world?" I replied, narrowing my eyes as I understood what he was implying, "...Are you saying—."

"That the prequel game's event might have gone uninterrupted." He completed my sentence, making me silent.

...If that happened, if all the events of the prequel game happen like in the game.

"...We have already lost God's beloved." I gently nodded at his words.

Ragnar...

...He was special.

...Due to his soul mixed with the small part of three main Gods...

....He could have Become an Avatar of three gods at the same time.

But...

...He didn't choose that.

"Anyway, why am I here?" I questioned as I looked at him, throwing those thoughts away.

"About that...I wanted to talk with you." He replied, his expression turned serious.

"...What?" I asked, a little taken aback by his change.

"Why are you so kind?" He asked, his voice filled with fatigue.

"What type of question is that?" I questioned back, an absurd look on my face.

"I have seen all your memories, Azariah." He replied, sighing heavily, "...From the age of five...till now, you are being forced and manipulated to be a kind person."

"...I know my mother did that—."

"Not your mother, Azariah." He interrupted, his cold blue eyes looking at me, "...Not your mother."

"..."

I didn't reply but just looked at him without any change of expression.

"...When did you notice?" He asked, nodding his head, realizing that I had already noticed something.

"...It's still a speculation." I replied, shaking my head, "...I can't be sure if it's true or not."

"...Just in case, prepare yourself for a heartbreak." He mumbled softly, "...If it's true, then it's going to hurt a lot."

"...I know." I mumbled as I looked up at the emptiness.

...I still don't understand why my mother is like that.

She is indifferent towards Avril, I haven't once seen my mother even touch her.

...Then why does she make my life so miserable?

...Is Amun-Ra's blessing so important to her?

...If I had a way to just give my blessing to her...I would have just done that.

Maybe that could save me from this endless torture.

"A piece of advice." I looked at him as he stated.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Kill Christiana."

"Say that again and I will rip your throat out!" I snapped, glaring at him.

"You didn't have a choice back then, but you have now." He replied with the same emotionless voice, "...Stop giving your mother a way to manipulate you."

"And you stop giving me your fucking advice." I spat, glaring at him venomously.

"You are a coward, Azariah." He stated, "...You have a way to achieve freedom—break the cycle of torture, but here you are refusing to do it."

"What's the point of freedom when I won't have anyone around me." I rebuked, glaring at him.

"That's why you are an idiot." He frowned, a look of displeasure on his face.

"I am better than a virgin boy who blushes when a girl teases him."

He immediately turned silent, making me silent as well.

No matter how close he and Senara were in childhood...In the end, he was the one who killed her.

After a few seconds, he parted his lips, "I am not a virgin."

"Huh? What?"

"Probably." He mumbled softly.

I just gave him a look of sympathy, not commenting further.

...Poor man living in delusion.

"Anyway, how should I get out of here?" Having wasted enough time, I asked.

"One more thing." He said, making me halt.

"What?"

"Our soul." He mumbled as he stood up, "...It can be merged now."

"Wait, what!?" I shouted, abruptly standing up as I walked close to him, "Wasn't there something that was stopping us from merging?"

"The system." He replied, taking me by surprise, "...It wasn't made to help us but to keep our souls separated."

"..."

I fell silent, deep in thought.

From the start, I had a feeling that something wasn't right with the system.

I mean, it wasn't even helpful to me.

All it did was tell some numbers that I could already feel.

"Whoever sent you here...doesn't seem friendly." I looked back at him as I mumbled.

He nodded his head in agreement, "...We don't even know who did that."

"Wait!?" I shouted as realization dawned upon me, "If we couldn't merge because of the system, doesn't that mean we could have merged months ago—"

"We could have." He nodded in agreement, "...But I had to sort out the memories that I have."

"My memories?" I asked, perplexed by his words.

"No...not your memories." He mumbled softly, lowering his head, "...It's different."

...What does that mean?

...Does he have another memory?

"So...what are we going to do?"

Inder didn't reply but just extended his hand towards me, "...If we start merging now, it will take a few months to complete."

His hands trembled slightly as a soft mutter escaped his mouth, "...Maybe around the time when we will get the memories back about what happened with my family—"

"Why should I merge with you?"

"...You can't win against your mother without me." He replied, "...And I can't find 'her' without you."

"..."

...I have thought a lot about it...if I merge with him...I will lose myself.

...But then again, I don't have a choice, do I?

I slowly extended my hand, shaking his as my lips parted, "...Let's see what will prevail, my obsession to protect my loved ones or your obsession to be free."

He smiled softly as he mumbled, "Sure."

And...

...Both our bodies started to glow, turning into particles merging together, becoming one.

...And from this moment onwards,

Inder became Azariah and Azariah became Inder.