Chapter 3190 Freedom of Choice

The shadow showed the transient soul the rest of his silent city. However, she grew much quieter after learning the nature of the shades that surrounded them. He did not have much to say, anyway — most of his memories of this place belonged to a time when the city was a makeshift settlement, and its people were no more than hunters and gatherers who barely knew how to farm land.

Tatal, Stone Hand, and their children... he remembered them well, but he knew very little about the people who had become his shades.

Of course, if he wanted to, he could peer into each of the shadows that dwelled within his soul and glean their past. The strings of their fates all ended in a single point, after all — in him. So, it was easy to learn about them. He had already glimpsed some of it when creating his kingdom, though, and had no desire to delve deeper into the mess of human lives.

Eventually, the two of them reached a solemn square with a monument towering above its center. The monument depicted a lone human figure facing a great wyrm.

The shadow studied the monument for a while, then said in an aloof tone:

“This is a statue to the Great Shaman who saved the people of this land from a terrible monster. There were no Transcendents among humans back then, so a Transcendent Devil was like a world-ending calamity. The shaman was a mere Master, but she faced the berserk creature alone. In the end, she defeated it."

Snuggle studied the monument for a long while.

Eventually, she asked:

“And what happened to her after that? Is she somewhere here, among these shades?"

The shadow shook his head.

"She lived a long and fulfilling life and eventually died of old age, surrounded by people who loved her. It was a... a good end.

The little doll remained silent for a few moments, then sighed.

"Mere Ascended facing a world-ending calamity alone... such a familiar story. Sadly, the heroes of the story I know did not win. They did not get their happily ever after, either."

She paused for a moment, then glanced at the shadow. Her perpetually downturned mouth twisted into a little grin.

"Not yet, at least!"

He lingered for a bit, not sure what she meant, then nodded.

“This concludes the tour of my kingdom. As you can see, it is not at all a hell.”

Snuggle chuckled weakly.

“Indeed. It is more of a Limbo... or a purgatory, perhaps. If its master has any mercy."

She glanced at the shadow, hesitated a little, then asked:

"Can I ask you a question?"

The shadow stared at the tattered doll, impassive.

"You can."

She turned to face the silent shades, observing their meticulous pretense of life.

"Why did you kill all these people?"

The shadow straightened and glanced away. He did not say anything for a long while, then uttered in a cold tone:

"Because I was angry. Because it was easy."

The shadow paused, imagining what his kingdom looked like to the transient soul. Trying to see the world from a different point of view was not easy for him — it was a skill that he had seemingly possessed once, but lost somewhere along the way.

Eventually, he added:

“Even if I never wanted it, these people treated me like a deity. They prospered under my accidental protection, spared from the countless cruelties of this vast world. There was only one commandment I ever gave them — it was to never sacrifice a human life to me. I warned them that if they ever did, I would erase their tribe from existence.”

The shadow fell silent.

After a while, he spoke again, his voice sounding a little quieter:

"But they didn't listen. Human memory is short."

Snuggle studied the silent shades.

After a while, she sighed.

“This is all new to me. Life has spoiled me, you see... I am used to Nightmare Creatures slaughtering innocent people, but I never really faced the malice of those who are free of Corruption. I am quite fortunate, don't you think? To have only ever fought monsters."

The shadow glanced at her with surprise.

“What are you talking about, silly doll? Humans are the most monstrous creatures of them all."

He turned his gaze to his silent kingdom, populated by the shadows of those he had slain.

“Because only humans have a choice. The Creatures of Corruption know nothing but agony and the desire to consume the Flame — they simply act according to their nature. But every human who commits an act of evil does so by choice."

Snuggle stared at him for a moment, then asked:

“Doesn't that make you a human, Lord Titan? After all, you committed this evil act by choice, as well."

The shadow tilted his head a little, feeling vague memories rise from the depths of his mind at the sound of her words.

Choice...

He felt like he had fought desperately for the right to have a choice, a long time ago. He must have won that desperate struggle... and for what?

Was he making good choices? What had he done with the privilege of being able to choose, to have chosen?

He was not sure.

The shadow smiled.

“I was human once... I was human myriad times. But it's strange — the more lives you live as a human, the less humanity you have left. You are right, however. I did make a choice. And that choice... it does seem like an act of evil."

Snuggle stared at him in confusion for a short while, then shook her head.

"Well, anyway... what are you going to do with me? I, uh, I hope you are not planning to add me to your collection of dead souls?"

The little doll shifted uncomfortably and put her hands on her hips.

“Because I—let me tell you! I have not angered you, and I won't be easy to kill. More than that, I have never sacrificed anything to you, so there's no reason to kill me, to begin with!"

The shadow stared at her for a moment, then laughed.

“Who says that I am going to do anything to you? I have no such plans. Do what you want, little soul."

Snuggle stared at him some more.

"Really?"

He nodded.

“Really."

However, she did not seem convinced. After studying him some more, she asked again:

“Really, really?"

The shadow sighed.

"I never lie.”

The little doll hesitated for a few moments, then took a step back.

"So... I can just leave? And you won't pursue me?"

The shadow threw one last wistful glance at Snuggle — the last keepsake of Tatal he had left — and turned away.

"You can, and I won't."

With that, he started to walk away. Soon, his figure was swallowed by darkness.

The little doll was left alone in front of the monument. She remained motionless for a short while, then dashed toward the border of the city.

The shadow sensed her departure, but didn't do anything. Instead, he returned to the steps of the temple and sat down, staring into the darkness.

He could feel the little doll reaching the end of the city and escaping into the wilderness outside. She was moving fast, as if afraid that the frightening lord of this eerie place would reconsider... however, the radiant soul did not abandon its clumsy vessel, choosing to remain a doll.

Perhaps she had felt that the shadow was attached to the ugly thing, and would hesitate to destroy it. So, she remained inside Snuggle, using it as a good luck charm.

The shadow still didn’t move.

If the transient soul wanted to leave, he had no reason to stop it. He did not want to kill it, after all, and neither did he want to imprison her and keep her within the kingdom by force.

He felt a little wistful at the thought of losing Snuggle... but he did not feel like he had the right to keep it, either. The thing he had become was not the same shadow Tatal would call a friend.

So, the shadow simply observed as the doll crossed the lands of his kingdom, feeling a little forlorn.

Soon enough, she reached the edge of the eternal darkness that shrouded the land. She dove into the light without slowing down or hesitating.

The shadow lowered his head.

‘...She could have glanced back, at least.'

After all, he had been quite hospitable to the transient soul. He had even broken the crystal and allowed it to escape the box. But, oh well. He understood her reluctance to stay in his dark kingdom any longer.

‘Good luck, little soul. I hope your travels will be...'

The shadow frowned, failing to finish the thought.

It seemed that the little doll had not made it very far.

Humans avoided the terrifying land of darkness that hid in the heart of this distant realm, so the lands surrounding it were wild and untamed.

..They were also home to countless Creatures of Corruption — some who had always dwelled there, and some who had fled here after being displaced by the swiftly spreading human civilization.

In short, the lands around his kingdom were no different from the primal hell of the world in the Age of Gods.

And the little doll... almost as soon as she left the quiet darkness and escaped into the light, she stumbled into one of the more powerful abominations that dwelled there. The shadow sighed.

‘Does she have the best luck or the worst luck?'

He couldn't tell.

One thing he did know, however, was that it was dangerous for someone whose soul shone with the golden light of divinity to exist in a world drowning in the rot of Corruption.

Somewhere outside his kingdom, a brilliant flash illuminated the sky.

The ground quaked.