Possession Is Always New (2)

The pitch-black darkness. In a void where not even a sliver of light existed, I opened my eyes and had been struggling desperately to escape this space ever since. Of course, no matter how frantically I thrashed, nothing changed.

“…Force quit the game.”

“Can’t you just pull me out, System? I suddenly don’t feel like playing anymore.”

Everything gets the same “insufficient permissions” response. I glared. The system message flaunting its presence right in front of me was utterly businesslike. It felt like a customer service rep who couldn’t be bothered to reply individually and just kept spamming macros. It wasn’t much different.

I took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a deep breath and spoke quietly.

“Skills.”

Tsk. I clicked my tongue. What was the point of looking at skills I couldn’t even use? This wasn’t funny. It wasn’t helping the current situation at all.

The one bright side was that almost nothing had changed since the last time I possessed this body, so at least that part was convenient.

“The inventory probably won’t show anything useful. The only things worth checking are the status window and the cash shop, I guess.”

The cash shop was inaccessible anyway, so that was a pass. Which left only the status window.

“Status window.”

I had already left my shame behind during the previous possession. I recited the now-familiar command with practiced ease and carefully examined the sparkling character stats floating before my eyes.

“Wow, damn. What the hell is this pathetic set of stats?”

The highest was D. The lowest was F. I stared at the extreme status window plastered with E’s and felt my mind go blank. What was this garbage?

I was purely impressed in an entirely different sense. These stats were insane in more ways than one. Since the interface hadn’t changed much from the previous game, F was probably the absolute bottom. Just to test it, I whispered for the single available stat point to be allocated to Strength. The system recognized voice input; the number changed from 0 to 1.

“…Oh. So that’s how it works.”

This feature didn’t exist before. So basically, once the total stat points reached 10, Strength would upgrade from E to the next rank, D. It was convenient, but it was still depressing that even after upgrading it only became D.

“Haaah… Well, whatever.”

More than that, the fact that I had to start over from scratch made me feel like my mind was about to run away from home. At least during the last possession I had entered as my main character, so aside from the mental exhaustion, I never had to worry about stats. I was already max level—what was there to worry about? The genre hadn’t been a dating sim back then either. Worrying at all back in those days would have been a luxury. I just cut down everything in sight. That was how I cleared the quests without any real difficulty.

“But not anymore.”

Because I slaughtered everyone I saw without hesitation, my infamy had spread far and wide. People stopped calling me by name and instead referred to me as the Heavenly Ghost—the demon who dyed the skies red with blood. Why am I bringing this up? Simple. The situation now was completely different from back then.

“I’m so fucked.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. In a world where dying might mean the end in reality too, I would have to choose my quests very carefully from now on. Especially since the quests always made ridiculous demands. That probably wouldn’t change this time either. This damn game always thought it was fun to put me in impossible situations.

I let out a short sigh and quietly accepted reality.

“One trait looks good, but the other looks ominous.”

Was this really okay? I made a slightly uneasy face. Beginner’s Benefit seemed fine, but the Stigma of Blood right next to it felt foreboding. It wasn’t called a Blood Contract or Blood Blessing—it was a stigma. The word “stigma” sounded exactly like a curse.

“Looks like I can’t check trait details with voice commands.”

I tried speaking the names of Beginner’s Benefit and Stigma of Blood several times to see the details, but there wasn’t even the slightest reaction. So I had to click them manually. How annoying. It was a shame I couldn’t do it right now since my arms were bound by chains and I couldn’t move.

I decided it would be better to read them after using the free trait draw later. In the end, the only pathetic method I had to escape this place was to shake my whole body and pray the chains would come loose. Even though I had racked my brain using every trick I could think of to get out as fast as possible, with all my abilities completely sealed, my options were extremely limited. Among those limited options, the only thing I could do was this pathetic thrashing to loosen the chains bit by bit. Sadly, even that wasn’t helping much.

Still, it was better than doing nothing and simply accepting my fate. With this admirable mindset and a solemn resolve worthy of a shonen manga protagonist who never gives up, I struggled on—only for my limits to arrive far too quickly.

“This is seriously fucked.”

I stopped flailing for a moment to catch my breath and muttered a small curse. The more I struggled, the tighter these damned chains became instead of loosening. It was as if they were mocking me, asking, “Go on, keep trying. You still won’t give up?”

At the same time, the pressure on my chest and throat made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me let out a small groan, and I finally stopped struggling.

“I’m going to lose my mind.”

I stared ahead with a fed-up expression. A space of absolute nothingness with no living creatures, not even a single object—just pure darkness. A world where powerful negative energy, enough to make high-ranking demons shudder, floated around like ordinary air. An ordinary person wouldn’t last even a moment; their skin would melt as if exposed to radiation, and they would scream in agony before dying. Or they would break and become a maddened demon. Both endings were equally horrific.

I still wore a fed-up look as I recalled what the system had told me earlier about where this place was and let out a sigh. It was a prison the demons treated as legend, the very bottom of the bottom of the Demon Realm. If we compared it to Greek mythology, it was like Tartarus. A prison for those who broke taboos or committed unforgivable sins, or for defeated enemies—a place of endless, impenetrable darkness literally called Narak. The legends about it were so terrible that it was said no one who entered ever survived. Its reputation was so strong that there were even stories of it once holding a fallen god who had committed a horrific sin.

I had never even imagined I would actually end up here. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠certainly not with my gender swapped.

Clank. Clank.

Every time I flailed my arms and legs, the sound of metal colliding rang out. My chest, now heavier and more cumbersome after becoming a woman, was squeezed painfully tight. The chains wrapped around my arms, legs, torso, and neck grew taut with every struggle, pulling tighter as if mocking me and strangling my throat.

Keuk… Khk—

“Ugh.”

I couldn’t breathe. My eyes burned from the pain. I was on the verge of tears. Even if I wanted to resist, with my body bound like this there was nothing I could do. Every time I twisted to escape, the horrible chains only pressed down on me even harder. It was as if they were clearly telling me not to resist pointlessly. The chains’ intent came through loud and clear.

The sealing magic was far more solid than I had imagined. I eventually concluded that even thinking about twisting free was foolish.

“Did I really live my life in vain?”

I steadied my breathing and glared into the pitch-black space, lamenting.

“I didn’t cause my parents much grief, and I think I lived more diligently than most people. Or did I?”

After resentment came anger. After anger came acceptance. After acceptance came resignation. I let out a hollow laugh, spilling meaningless words. It was the smile of someone who had given up.

I had no idea what sins I committed in my past life for God to hate me this much. At this point I seriously had to wonder if I had sold out my country to the enemy during the war. “If my previous life wasn’t that of a traitor who sold his nation, then this makes no sense.”

Otherwise, there was no way God would give only me such cruel trials. Even though I had already possessed a damned game character once before, it seemed the great and wonderful God still wasn’t satisfied. On top of that, the fact that this was the sequel to the game I had possessed made my heart feel complicated.

I had parted with Leticia without even a proper goodbye, as if I would never return, practically abandoning her after using her. If she ever found out I had come back, I could easily imagine what would happen. I shuddered. I didn’t even want to think about it. It would be lucky if she only poured out resentment and hatred. The problem was there was no guarantee it would stop there.

With tears of blood flowing in my heart, I scanned the surroundings once more and despaired upon confirming there was absolutely no escape from this space.

“In the first place, as long as these chains are binding me, escaping seems impossible.”

It would have been better if the damn system at least gave me a quest. Ever since it announced that the prologue story had ended, it had remained completely silent. This was just too much. It was already torture to spend even one hour in this place where nothing was visible, and now I had no idea how many hours I had been trapped here.

“Is that all it takes to make you struggle? My, my. I can’t bear to watch my descendant suffer so pathetically over something so trivial.”

“…Who…?!”

“I have been right in front of you the entire time. Do not look with narrow eyes—look broadly. Only then will you see.”

A calm yet languid woman’s voice. There was a relaxed air in her tone.

Startled, I quickly lifted my head and looked around frantically. And then I saw her.

A woman with both hands twisted behind her back as if they were one with the darkness, kneeling, with dozens of swords and arrows embedded in her back. Her limbs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were tightly bound by thick, heavy chains. Twelve wings that had once been pure white were now stained black; most had been cut or torn out, leaving only a few that still retained their original shape, gleaming like obsidian. I stared at her with wide eyes.

“…Ah, uh.”

Fear stole my voice. I had felt this same sensation when watching Charlotte Cyclamen’s prologue story. The woman who had given orders to this body’s mother. A monster whose mere presence inspired terror. She carried an aura similar to that monster—the one who had made me feel the emotion of fear for the first time in a long while. Her appearance was similar too.

Eyes as red as a malevolent star lighting up the night sky. Though the surroundings were dark, upon closer inspection her hair was also black as night. She was undoubtedly mysterious and more beautiful than any woman I had ever seen, yet the physiological revulsion and terror she inspired were far stronger. I swallowed hard.

I knew the Goddess of the Demon Realm took the form of an extremely beautiful human. I knew it, but I hadn’t expected her to be this beautiful.

The woman looked at me as I trembled and spoke calmly.

“Do not be afraid. I merely fell into corruption after betraying the Goddess of the Heavenly Realm, resulting in this repulsive appearance.”

“…It’s not repulsive at all. You’re incredibly beautiful… Um, who are you?”

“There is no need for empty flattery. Ahem. My name is Lucifel. I was once a Seraphim who served as the Goddess’s right hand, a fallen angel who led a rebellion and was defeated.”

The very being who created the demons. And, after taking a deep breath, the woman added,

“A foolish demon cast down to the earth after being betrayed by those I trusted. One of the ancient demons you call devils.”

The woman smiled awkwardly.

“It has been thousands of years since I last saw a living being. You may ignore this if you wish, but would you listen to the grumbling of this worthless old woman in the back room?”

At that moment, a sudden quest caught my eye.

Ten thousand cash and six stat points. Just by talking I could gain information, ten thousand won usable in the cash shop, and six stat points. Anyone who passed this up would be a certified sucker.

“I’ll do it. Absolutely.”

After all, capital and rewards are king.