Calming himself—counting to ten in his head and taking deep breaths—Toyota forced himself to speak. A chilling voice escaped his lips as the black and red smoke wafting above his head faded to a barely visible wisp.
"It was the insignia," he said coldly. "It shot out a green light when I was near it."
There was no reason to speak to this pitiful man about anything beyond business. Heinkel would only twist it into his own self-pitying narrative. In his mind, he had lost his wife and, not long after, his mother. With nowhere to place his grief, he threw all the blame onto the only person he could—the one who, ironically, still cared for him.
Heinkel's eyes widened slightly. "Green? The light's supposed to be red for every candidate… Of course this freak finds another abnormality. Two peas in a pod."
Rei's eyes, which had been subdued until now, flashed with a brief spark of defiance.
"Please refrain from calling my lord any derogatory terms."
Heinkel let out a humorless, gurgling laugh.
"You think you can order me around? I still outrank you. Whatever. I didn't come here to see you—I came to see my wife."
Stumbling to his feet, he groggily made his way toward Toyota, who stood unmoving in the doorway. Seeing him approach, Toyota grudgingly stepped aside.
"Move aside, brat."
As if tripping over his own feet, Heinkel deliberately slammed his shoulder into Toyota's side. To an outsider, it might've looked like an accidental harsh bump—but to Toyota, the contact felt like getting hit by a truck. The wind was knocked out of him as his body was flung hard into the wall. The surface cracked on impact, and a sharp snap echoed through the room as his ribs fractured.
The sound snapped Heinkel out of his drunken stupor. His face paled as the realization of what he'd just done settled in.
Toyota lay on the floor, gasping. It hurt to breathe. His neck ached from the whiplash. If he hadn't instinctively activated his body's repulsion, he might've died.
Heinkel didn't look like much—but he still carried the lineage of the Sword Saint. Before Rei, he had been the most likely candidate to receive the Divine Protection after Theresia. If scaled, he would fall just below Julius in swordsmanship, with nearly fifty times the strength of a normal human. Of course, compared to Rei, he was still an ant.
"I… I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to—"
Rei rushed past her father's muttered apology and knelt beside Toyota. Panic and concern were etched into her face as she gently wrapped her arms around the gasping boy, whose breathing grew more labored by the second. He was trying to say something, but it came out in a gurgling gasp.
"Your rib… it's punctured your lung," she murmured, her face turning pale.
Lifting him with careful precision to avoid worsening the injury, she stood. Her cold glare fixed on her father. Heinkel was visibly trembling now, the guilt seeping into his features.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him—I was just frustrated—"
"Shut up and get out. Now."
Never before had Rei spoken harshly to her father. She had always believed what he told her—that her grandmother's death was her fault. But this act of pure spite—there was no one else to blame but him.
Turning away, she focused entirely on Toyota, whose body trembled as he coughed up clots of blood onto the wooden floor. He angled himself away from her for some reason—subtle, but clear as day to Rei. Her heart clenched.
He didn't want to get any blood on her white knight's coat.
Even in this state, he was trying not to inconvenience her.
Her eyes darkened.
Heinkel clumsily dropped his bottle of liquor in his haste to get help.
After he left the room, Rei—sensing the immense pain Toyota was in—made a decision. After a moment of hesitation, she delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck. The boy who had been choking on his own blood fell unconscious.
Seeing his contorted face finally relax, even just a little, brought her a sliver of relief. But he still needed a healer—and fast. She couldn't rely on her incompetent father.
Activating her Divine Protection of Wind Resistance to shield his body, she dashed out of the room with a sonic boom in her wake, cradling Toyota like a child.
But out of the corner of her eye, something strange caught her attention—a shift in color, as if it were being drained from the world.
Looking down at him, her breath caught in her throat.
His hair—dirty blonde just moments ago—was rapidly losing color, turning paler and paler at a frightening rate, as though his very life force was being siphoned away.
Never in her life had she seen anything like it.
Was he dying?
No… he couldn't be.
She wouldn't allow it.
***
"I've decided."
"Yes."
Rem looked at me with that gentle smile—her soft blue hair swaying as she waited patiently, like she always did, believing in me.
There was a long silence.
"Please… run away with me," I said. "As far as we can go."
I braced myself for heartbreak—for that soft, pitying look. But instead… she said yes. No hesitation. Her eyes shimmered with something I couldn't quite place—longing? Hope? I didn't know. I just knew that after all the pain, after failing so many times… I had to protect her. Even if I couldn't save the village, or Emilia, or anyone else—I could save her.
I clung to that one truth like my life depended on it.
So I let everything else go. The mansion. The village. My friends. I left it all behind. It killed me, thinking of what would happen to them. But if I stayed, I'd lose her to, and I couldn't take that.
We traveled west—to Kararagi. It wasn't long after we fled that I proposed again—this time on one knee. And again… she said yes.
I'd never known joy like that. My parents always joked I'd never find a wife. Not only did I find one, but she truly loved me. Me, of all people. I felt a happiness I never thought I deserved. It overflowed into everything I did.
At first, work was hard to come by. But I was determined—I had to support her. Rem got a job teaching children while I searched for anything I could do. Eventually, I found work at a mansion. It reminded me too much of my old life… too much of what I'd left behind. But I pushed through.
Because this time, I was happy. Genuinely happy.
We bought a house. Made friends—some of them not even human. One of them was Halibel, a pot-bellied wolf demi-human with the personality of a drunk, funny uncle. Later, I found out he was crazy strong—like Reinhard-tier strong. But back then, I just thought he was an annoying but good guy.
Then, one day, I came home to urgent news.
My heart sank. Was Rem sick? Had something happened?
No. She was pregnant.
We'd been… well, you know. But I never really expected anything to come from it. Hearing I was going to be a dad? It hit me harder than any sword ever could. I felt pride. Fear. Joy. All tangled together.
More time passed. Somehow, I ended up befriending what was left of the great spirit Zarestia—a spirit older than Beatrice, although just as immature. Tia, as we called her, got along well with Rem.
Then we found out something heartbreaking. Rem was the last of her kind. The Oni village had been destroyed. She started thinking about her sister, and I… I couldn't help but blame myself. If only I had brought Ram back too. But Rem kept assuring me that she was fine.
And then, our son was born.
We named him Rigel.
He was like me, but with Rem's blue hair. A perfect mix. Being a half-oni, he only had one horn. Rem felt guilty—like she'd taken something from his future. But behind her back, Halibel started secretly teaching Rigel ninja arts. Yeah. Ninja arts. From a guy who could probably fight Reinhard—not win, but delay maybe. I didn't know whether to be terrified or proud.
Then Rem got pregnant again. This time, we had a daughter.
She had my hair but Rem's everything else. A tiny mirror of her mother. We named her Spica.
And that was it. My life was complete.
I had a family. A home. Friends. A job. Even Tia promised to protect them after I was gone, since she was a spirit who would outlive all of us. For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn't suffering. I wasn't in pain. I had peace.
But I never forgot where I came from.
I missed my parents. Did I vanish from their world without a trace? Do they think I ran away?
I can't help but hope they forgot me—that would be easier for them. They wouldn't have to grieve.
If I could send them one message… just one…
"I love you. I'm doing okay."
Seventy years passed.
I watched my children grow up. I watched my grandchildren take their first steps.
Rem… she barely aged. Must be an Oni thing.
Me? I was slowing down. I spent more time remembering than doing.
I thought about it a lot.
What if I hadn't run away with Rem? What if I had kept trying to save everyone? Emilia. The village. The mansion. Would I have found a future where nobody died?
But I was so, so tired.
I had lived enough. Loved enough. And as I closed my eyes for the last time, I let out a deep, peaceful breath.
And then… I opened them again.
I was standing in front of the old Appa stand, a place that existed only in memory.
"Hey, kid. What are you zoning out for?"
There he was—the old, tough-looking man who'd greeted me when I first entered this world.
I looked down. My hands… they weren't wrinkled. They weren't weak. I blinked. My heart began to race.
No… this is just a dream. Right?
All that happened. My kids… they're real… right?
A voice pulled me from my spiral. A familiar voice.
"Subaru? Are you all right?"
I turned around.
Rem was standing there, just like the first day I met her. A basket of fruit in her hands. Concern in her eyes.
This isn't real. It can't be. This has to be me… reliving my memories.
If I died, why couldn't I stay dead?
"Rem… Rigel… Spica…" I whispered. My throat tightened.
"What happened to all of you? Were you erased?
It's my fault… it's all my fault.
I shouldn't have died…"
Rem, Rigel, Spica.
Rem, Rigel, Spica.
Rem, Rigel, Spica!
REM, RIGEL, SPICA!
The younger Rem stepped back, confused. "What's wrong, Subaru?"
WHOSE FAULT IS THIS?!
Who do I blame?!
Why am I cursed with this damned ability?!
Just let me die… with my loved ones.
Immortality is a curse, not a blessing. Anyone who says otherwise is naive.
Do I have to keep restarting from zero with this damned ability?
Death isn't something to fear—it's something to hope for.
The living…
The living are the ones truly cursed.
Because they have to carry the burden of the past.
Soul Memories: End
Sloth Subaru's memories have been fully transferred. Duration: 78 years.
Due to full soul synchronization in memory and ability, the speed of future memory transfers will be enhanced.
Slowly, bleary, tired eyes opened.
Once again, he was in a new room.
His vision blurred, but he could make out a red-haired knight pacing nervously, chewing her lip as she walked back and forth. Her eyes were fixed downward, staring at her boots, oblivious to everything around her.
What was her name again?
He couldn't place it. His head was heavy—his body, nonexistent. No sensation reached him. His ears rang. The despair he had just experienced felt distant now, like a memory from another life.
He couldn't even recall what emotions felt like anymore.
He just wanted to feel the warmth of his wife again—her bosom pressing into his chest, her chin resting gently on his shoulder. He wanted to hear his children's voices, complaining that he wasn't paying them enough attention.
But the thought of their absence filled him with a different kind of exhaustion.
Maybe… maybe he should just close his eyes again.
What was he dreaming about?
[ALERT: System Notification]
Host has been inflicted with multiple status effects:
Depression
Schizophrenia
Cognitive Overload
Depersonalization
Dementia
PTSD
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Cause: Recent memory transfer.
System is currently activating emergency protocols to stabilize host.
Initiating separation of absorbed souls from host's spiritual furnace...
ERROR: "Envy" has fully bonded with host's soul.
Hypothesis: High compatibility detected.
Notice: Lust and Sloth have been successfully extracted.
Beginning Project: Composite.
***
Inside the soul realm, four souls remained—huddled around a pulsating orb of pure scarlet malice. The energy it radiated was suffocating, brimming with hatred so intense it seemed almost sentient. It flared violently at random intervals, then calmed, like a beast pacing within its cage.
None of the four souls dared to step away.
One of them—a white-haired soul exuding a childlike madness—grinned from ear to ear. Beside him stood another, radiating the chilling aura of a determined psychopath: the self-proclaimed Sin Archbishop of Pride.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a tendril of scarlet energy lashed out.
It coiled around the white-haired soul, who let out an excited cackle, and another soul who had been quietly distancing himself from the group. The second gave no scream, only a glare of deep distaste—resentful of everything around him, as if the very act of existing near others offended him.
"Haha! I'm going to become one! I'm going to become Subaru!" the white-haired soul howled with glee.
The tendrils constricted, dragging them both into the core of scarlet madness.
"Awwww…" Pride whined mockingly, strolling toward another soul sitting cross-legged nearby. This one hadn't moved—his eyes were closed, his entire being radiating an ancient and alien presence.
"I wanted to be picked with you next, big bro…" Pride pouted. "Well, at least the pedophile and the crybaby are gone…"
He chuckled darkly, continuing without pause. "I never really got to talk to that naïve hero. I'm sure he would've annoyed the hell out of me. What do morons like that even talk about? Forgiving the ones who killed you like it's nothing… he must be even crazier than I am."
The ancient soul opened his eyes—cold and calculating. He studied the man in front of him in silence.
"When it comes to results," he finally said, "I admit... he is my superior."
"What? No way!" Pride cried out. "You're way more admirable than that idiot! You fixed everything! You undid every mistake!"
But the ancient being replied calmly, his voice a thunderous weight that filled the black void of the soul realm:
"The amount of effort needed to achieve that naïve hero's feats is... incomparable. Even then, I find my methods lacking. I do not inspire growth—I inspire dependence. Emotional dependence on a man who has long forgotten what emotion is."
A heavy silence followed.
Then, Pride puffed out his cheeks before bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha! Who cares about all that? Feelings? Growth? It's not up to them to accept my love—I'll just force it down their throats, and they should be grateful for it! Who needs a reward? I'll give them salvation whether they want it or not!"
The ancient soul stared at the twisted individual in front of him, his expression unreadable. Then, without a word, he closed his eyes once more and returned to his silence.
(AN: I've been experimenting writing the memory scenes fully in first person, but it's very hard to summarize so much content into such condensed paragraphs if I go too long then I think it will take away from the plot, too short and it loses emotional Impact.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 70 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)