Chapter 468: Nice To Meet You (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 468: Nice To Meet You (3)
Rumble-!
An eternity seemed to pass as I clung to consciousness amidst the raging storm within. My body was a bloated vessel, stretched to its absolute limit, feeling as if it would rupture at the slightest lapse in control.
Crack-
A constant, gruesome symphony played inside me—the sound of bones shattering and reassembling, over and over. The agony was incomparable to any battlefield wound; this was a fundamental, cellular destruction.
Craaack-!
My skeleton shifted violently. Skin tore. My organs and blood felt like they were boiling in a cauldron. I couldn't even scream. I knew that opening my mouth would be the release valve that caused my entire being to explode. So I held my breath.
The storm of Qi ceaselessly burrowed deeper into me. My body had surpassed its limits long ago; this was a magnitude of power I was never meant to contain.
And yet.
How was I still enduring? My very flesh was begging for death. The simple acts of blinking and breathing were the only movements I could afford in this sea of despair. While my body teetered on the brink, my bones continued their relentless cycle of breaking and reforming a thousand times.
Crack-
A fracture.
Riiip-!
A tear.
With pain screaming from every nerve, I couldn't even pinpoint the source anymore. I wanted to die. The suffering was so immense that surrender seemed a sweet release. What was the point of this? Why endure this mind-shattering torment?
Slam-! Slam-!
As if sensing my wavering resolve, the Qi inside me grew even more frenzied, thrashing against its confines like a caged beast desperate to break free.
You're the ones who forced your way in, you pieces of shit.
I managed to crack my eyelids open—the most I could do.
Hah.
A dry, painful chuckle escaped me at the sight. The vast space, once completely filled with liquid, was now utterly empty.
Where did it all go? Into me, of course. I had forced an ocean into this mortal frame, and now I was paying the price, feeling like a overfilled waterskin about to burst.
Slam-!
“Hugh…!”
A pained gasp leaked out despite my efforts. A wisp of blue Qi seeped from my slightly parted lips.
Thump-!
My heart gave a single, thunderous beat. Even that minor vibration sent fresh waves of agony through me. That was too close.
Dammit.
How much longer? Just how much longer must I hold on?
I had learned one thing: human endurance far exceeded what I had ever imagined. I was living proof, surviving well past the point of breaking.
Riiip-
“…!”
A section of my skin began to peel away—not a clean cut, but the entire layer sloughing off like a snake's shed skin.
Swish…
Beneath it, new skin rapidly grew. The ripping was agony, and the regeneration was a fresh hell. There was nothing more bullshit than this.
Ugh, dammit. If I'd known it would be like this, I might have just given in to that bastard. The Blood Qi monster had offered me a way out, and right now, I was filled with regret.
Sigh.
Why was my life always like this? Could I even call it a life anymore? After this, I would cease to be human.
…Great.
All I ever wanted was to live an ordinary life, but now even that was being stolen from me. What a shitty existence.
As I gritted my teeth, my hands curling into fists, a voice echoed in my mind.
[Then-]
[Why do you try to endure?]
I'd been faintly hearing it since the pain began. It sounded like the Blood Qi's voice, but the tone was different. More… human.
Maybe I'm hallucinating.
It was possible, given the torment. I didn't care. Going insane was the least of my worries.
[It would be so easy if you just gave up. Why are you enduring?]
Still, it was annoying.
[You say you aren’t afraid of death, yet why do you cling to your life?]
Can you shut up for a second? I can’t focus.
[I don’t understand.]
Did I ask you to?
I didn't understand myself, so how could anyone else? Why was I doing this?
It’s too late to look for a reason now.
I was in too deep. Sure, I could list reasons—to save the world from some impending disaster, to reach a height no one else could. But if I was honest, those weren't it.
[Then why…]
I was curious, too. I felt like I'd had a reason once, but it was lost in the pain. If this were Elder Shin, he'd spout some noble crap about saving the world. But I wasn't a hero. I didn't care if the world burned or held grand secrets.
But if I had to give a reason…
I would feel too shameless to go see them if I gave up so easily.
I guess that was it.
[For… something so measly?]
The voice sounded utterly speechless. This bastard was judging me?
Now even you are trying to piss me off?
How absurd. I was the one who should be speechless. First the Blood Qi monster, and now…
My regret was giving me this nonsense.
This was the last vestige of my humanity, nagging me.
When I retorted harshly, the voice spoke again, hesitantly.
[…I… don’t want to become a filthy monster.]
It was laced with sadness, anger, and resentment.
I know.
I knew better than anyone. I wanted to die as a human. I failed in my past life; I wanted to at least succeed in this one. I wondered if it was even possible after becoming a Demonic Human again, but I still hoped.
[But… You could still give up now.]
I can.
I could die right now and remain human. Yes. I wouldn't transform into this unknown, supposedly superior species. I could die as what I was born.
The thought made me laugh internally. What was so great about being human that I clung to it so desperately? Did I just want to know what it felt like, having thrown it away so long ago?
Wrong.
I knew the answer. It was more selfish than that. It wasn't about pride or greed.
I just wanted to be able to stand by their side, as one of them.
[…I… want to remain as human.]
The voice echoed my own regret, resentment, and sadness. I knew I had no right. It was too late. I was scolding myself, but my selfish greed kept resurfacing.
Who cared about what happened in my past life? Couldn't I live differently this time?
How pathetic. After all this time, I was still just as pathetic.
Even so…
Sorry.
[…]
That’s too much even for me.
My life had always been a series of difficult choices. I never weighed them on a scale. My past life was a mess because I always chose the harder path.
It looked like this life would be no different.
I was going to choose the heavier side again.
I placed my final regrets on one side of the scale, and those precious to me on the other. Honestly, I didn't even need to weigh them. I already knew which was more valuable.
[…]
After that, the regretful voice haunting my mind fell silent.
Sorry.
I apologized again. I'd never apologized to myself in my life, but it felt necessary now.
Slam-!
The Qi raged with renewed fury, as if rebelling against my decision. The pain intensified exponentially, and I felt a fundamental change begin within my body.
Woong-!
The energy saturating every cell of my being began to shift. It had filled me to the brim, even my head, and now its movement threatened to shatter my sanity.
Swoosh-!
“Ug…gh…”
A horrifying amount of power coalesced into a tornado inside me.
Crack-!
My bones, which had been cracking, instantly powdered, only to begin reforming immediately.
Swoosh-!
As my skeleton changed, the raging Qi surged toward a new focal point. I knew where instantly.
My heart.
Squeeze-!
“Aghhhhh!”
The pain was already unimaginable, but having all that energy converge on my chest created an agony that dwarfed everything before. It felt like my soul was being crushed.
But it wasn't over.
Thump-!
The energy began to condense, shrinking into an impossibly dense point. It was like being sucked into a black hole.
I had to endure. Even if it was impossible.
Craaack-!
The sound of breaking continued. What was left to break? My vessel should have been destroyed long ago.
Crack-! Now I could hear the sound from outside my body, too. The very space around me was fracturing.
Slam-! Slam-!
My chest was on the verge of explosion. The world was crumbling. The sensation of my own dissolution haunted me.
Through it all, I had to hold on. I wouldn't let go. Not until this was over. That was my goal.
After what felt like another eternity…
Slam…
Slam…
The violent vibrations gradually began to subside. The pain started to recede.
Just as I thought it was finally over…
Ring-
A soft, clear chime resonated from the center of my chest.
Swoooosh-!
The condensed energy exploded outwards, scattering throughout my body. I was swept away by a tidal wave of power, and my consciousness finally succumbed to the overwhelming force.
After.
“Hah…!”
When my eyes opened again, everything had changed.