Chapter 452: Halfmortal [2]

Chapter 452: Chapter 452: Halfmortal [2]

Chapter 452 – Halfmortal [2]

Meadow didn’t respond. She couldn’t.

Her body was slumped over, kneeling on the ground, her empty right eye socket spilling blood, the agony so overwhelming she thought she was going to lose consciousness.

But she didn’t, and she knew this was hardly a mercy.

She tried desperately to stop herself from wailing, but the harder she tried, the more helpless she felt, and the very fact that she couldn’t control her tears only made her cry even harder.

Meadow had never felt so weak and useless since that time with Faceless. And this time was far worse.

But no matter how much self-disgust she was beginning to feel at her weakness, it was that same self-disgust that gave her the determination to seek power.

And that, even if that power came from a dead worm on the edge of madness.

So she lifted her head, not noticing that the blood seeping from her now empty socket was not the usual red, but green and gold, and stared at the dead god with her only working eye.

"Why am I... here?" Her voice was hoarse, pained and lost. "Where is the Characteristic?"

"I am the Characteristic, mortal," Rayel said, blinking.

She slowly shifted her body, and Meadow almost hoped Rayel’s head would finally separate and fall off.

But it didn’t.

And it never would.

"I see that bastard succeeded in finding a successor for his Blasphemous Treasures," Rayel continued with a grin. "But I bet, I truly bet, he never anticipated that someone so weak would take it. Knowing him, I was certain he would manipulate probability to give them to someone..."

She looked Meadow up and down, and finished.

"...more deserving of me. Of us."

Those words immediately made Meadow think of Cassius.

He was the one who had given her this Pen, making her the successor, in a way.

Did that mean the Pen was supposed to be with Cassius?

But then why had the Pen chosen her? Was it because it realized it had no other choice?

So many questions suddenly appeared inside her mind, all of them impossible to answer.

But she didn’t care about any of that.

Meadow Wealth was never the type to be jealous of anyone, let alone her own friend. Cassius had given her this Pen, and he hadn’t tried to find a way to get it back from her, even after learning how important it was.

He trusted her that much.

And all her sect comrades and friends had decided to give her this Characteristic, even though it was that of a dead god.

A God!

Even Cassius didn’t have one.

So,

’By the Queen, I won’t disappoint.’ She growled inside her mind and glared at the dead god.

Her left eye began to glow with a white hue, intense and bright, making Rayel arch an eyebrow.

"Oh," Rayel said. "This glow... is that... Truth?"

"You are dead," Meadow said, her voice weak but firm. "You have nothing else to hope for in your existence. I can be the gate through which the world witnesses your glory again."

"And, mortal, how will you do that?" she asked, amused.

"Give me your power. And I will honor you through it."

"That’s a dangerous thing, my power, I mean," Rayel whispered, grinning. "You seem to ignore the fact, mortal, that I am a monster. And hear me well. I am not the same kind of monster you have seen, or will come to see, but one of the Royals. My mother, our mother, is the very Womb."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that having me in you means having a literal monster inside you. And that’s without taking into account that you will hold a piece of my divine Authority, however infinitely weak it may be." Rayel smiled again. "Is that what you want? You, a human? A piece of a god? What will you be, then? Still human? Still mortal? Oh. Dangerous."

Meadow finally hesitated at that very instant, not truly expecting this... situation. She had always known that having a Characteristic literally meant taking a part of a being inside you.

It was a dangerous thing, and not many people were willing to do it.

Especially in this case, where the being itself was... a monster and a god. A dead one.

What would she be, then, if she took it?

Meadow didn’t know. But the young tycoon knew it was better to be a monster among monsters than a human among monsters.

Cassius, Isolde, and even Sarah. Queen’s Eyes, even Omm was anything but normal. And what about Klaus, who could control such a strong Spirit? Or Love, who could use a Forbidden Rune?

Emrys, then?

All those around her were human only in appearance. They were monsters.

And she needed to be like them if she wanted to survive.

So she gritted her teeth and, with fear poisoning her heart, said, "I still want it. And I don’t think you have much of a choice. Either you accept being mine, or you stay here and I will bring Cassius to take you."

"Cassius?" Rayel said. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

Meadow grinned, her teeth stained with the blood of the dead worms. "Oh, but it is, dear god. You wouldn’t want that man here after you completely ripped out my right eye. He is the Blessed of Three Goddesses, and the Chosen One of a Primal Queen. He is the one whose Wedding Mother System personally acknowledged."

Rayel’s eyes widened slightly, quite surprised.

The last time she had heard of a being with such potential was during the last Golden Generation, with the likes of Trenovar, Adonis, Jambar the Undefeated, and Blue Mermaid the Seafarer.

Such people were only born once in an age.

And she knew this little girl was not lying, for the mortal had the eyes of Truth. That final observation made her eyes widen even more, as if she had understood something.

"You are a Chosen One?" Rayel said in a pressing voice, now sitting a bit straighter, her head wobbling as if about to fall, blood gushing out faster. "A new Golden Generation has come, then?"

"Yes," Meadow replied. "I am the Chosen of the Keeper of Truth." Her left eye glowed brighter, as if confirming her words. "And I am part of the Golden Generation."

Rayel’s grin would have split her face if that were possible. "So that time has come again! And you, mortal, are one of them. Oh, that little bastard knew what he was doing! And now I must wonder, just what is He planning? What does MasterOfPaths seek, that he would give his Blasphemous Treasures to one of the Golden Generation? To the Scion of Truth herself, no less?"

The Dead God was getting excited, and Meadow had no idea why.

"If that is the case, then you might have what it takes to claim my corpse before my brothers and sisters find it."

"Your brothers and sisters?"

"The other Six Royal Monsters of our mother, Inara," Rayel replied. "They are searching for my body to devour me, so they can finally evolve and ascend a step higher. Whoever devours me will be stronger than the rest, and will have the power to devour all the other monsters. And do you know what would happen then?"

Meadow didn’t reply. Rayel didn’t need her to.

"Another Mother of Monsters would be born, and that is the last thing anyone in these worlds would want." Rayel’s green, snake-like eyes narrowed coldly. "Because then our Mother, Inara, Queen of Monsters and Madness, would wake up. And it is not time yet. Not nearly! So here is what we are going to do, Scion of Truth."

Rayel lifted her finger and pointed at Meadow’s empty right socket.

"I will give you what you want, and you will find my body. You won’t eat it, most likely. You are weak, so you would die. And I have no desire to be revived. I am close to getting the heart of the WorldTree." Rayel smirked. "So just destroy it."

Meadow was lost. Did this monster not want to be revived? And what did she mean by the Heart of the WorldTree?

"I will then give you my right eye," the Dead Worm of the WorldTree said. "And I will give you my children, and they will become your children. That will be the Characteristic I have chosen for you."

"Chosen... for me?"

"Ah, you didn’t know?" Rayel laughed. "MasterOfPaths gave us the choice of Characteristic for reasons we do not know. But now... now I think I am beginning to glimpse why he chose that. Truly, His mind works outside any conventional way."

"What would happen to me if I had your... right eye and children?" Meadow asked, the pain gradually fading.

"You will have the eye of a dead god, which will be a living monster that obeys you, and the ability to create worms," Rayel replied, then grinned. "What do you think, mortal? You will hold Truth and Worms inside you."

The Dead God made a beckoning gesture with her finger, and Meadow flew towards her, falling into her small hands.

"From now on, between you and me..."

She grasped Meadow, plucked out her own right eye with the slightest grimace, and began to press it into Meadow’s empty socket.

"...I will call you Worm of Truth, my dear."

—End of Chapter 452—