"…if I die, or leave my body without a soul… I fear that the abomination will take over me and use it to kill them… I beg Sir Heruzen… please live… I offer you my vessel… I have already caused them so much pain… I don't want to shame them anymore… Sir Heruzen… I beg of you… please… save my family…."
Heruzen, could not stop himself from smiling, and then, finally, he started laughing, "You asked me to protect your family, but you doubted my abilities. Your faith is disgustingly fragile. Your insecurities might have affected me as well, leading me to know of my odd actions and me breaking free of the Goddess' grasps. I shouldn't accept your request and abandon you right now, then disappear. Now, you are asking me to do something for you after betraying my trust without even a single piece of leverage? And now, you want me to take over your life?"
Theo's eyes twitched from guilt.
Heruzen smiled, "Boy, do you even know what your Fate was supposed to be?"
Touching Theo's forehead with his finger, "Let me show you something."
Heruzen summoned information he had on an Archduke. The markings of the soul, how he would be taken over, and how a bloodbath would arise from the awakening.
All the blood and the carnage flooded his mind. A young man killing a town, his father, mother, his brother, all the town's people, and his lover. One by one, he hunted them for pleasure and to satiate the pain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! STOP IT!" Theo pushed Heruzen away, "Wha—what was that… that monster?"
"That was me. At around the 23rd life, I led. It was a short life, one filled with slaughter. I was an archduke at the time, and that was my first awakening. I have several lives where I controlled it, but this one is what you would become if you were to awaken as an Archduke. You can't fight it, and then you will kill everyone in the City. Maybe one or two would survive, and then you would hunt down every single one who did this to you, all the while fighting to take control. I reckon Titus will survive because of a dormant power, and then he will most likely come to take revenge, and you will kill each other… you'll win by sheer luck… I think, or you two will team up either way, it will be—"
"Enough… please… no more."
"...You are too rattled, boy. Did the Goddess not showed you of your fate?"
"…no, she couldn't show me anything. She said she used all her powers to tamper with fate after bringing me to this world."
"She used up all her powers?" Heruzen laughed and then looked in the direction of the Goddess, "You lost your powers? HAHAHA! Is that the reason why you accepted his offer? You're afraid I'll die, and I'll take you with me!? Shit! I thought you were already a bitch, but this is the next level of low. You selfish prick, I'm not even angry anymore. You're such a cunt I—GAHAHAHA!"
Heruzen kept laughing for a long time at the fallen Goddess, "That means I have more Divine Powers than you in this world? Haha, I used most of my stolen divinity when I killed you, yet I'm still stronger than you—yet you still dare to challenge me? You're stupider than the Heroes I fought! Seriously, who would do such a thing? How did you become a Goddess?"
He was on the ground, rolling, his hands on his stomach, seeing how low the Goddess had fallen.
Thud!
"Please… Sir! I beg of you…."
"You're still saying that? Quite shameless, I see."
"You showed me… what would happen if I die and disappear… if the Archduke appears… then…."
Again, Theo hit his head in the darkness, begging a man he barely knew to take over his body and save his family.
"You already experienced what kind of man I truly am. I am not a man who knows to do good. Just ask the Goddess; I am not one to be trusted. Isn't that why you controlled my thoughts and emotions in the first place?"
"I… apologize for sending you so little of my emotions and memories… but I asked the Goddess to do it so that my curse wouldn't be placed upon you. I know the pain… I didn't want sir to suffer as I did… and I know it was out of line, but I had to… control my emotions, and match them with yours… and accelerate your… empathy to our family… I wanted you to feel what I had while holding your own thoughts… I wanted Sir Heruzen…to replace me… without becoming me, but yourself."
"Do you even know who I am? I am a man who took over the lives of villains; I am a molded Villain, created to do evil and wreak havoc. Different realities have suffered because of me, I slew Kings, Emperors, and plundered the weak, and massacred Orphans, I am irredeemable."
"I now know of my end… I know of fate… I know what will become of me… and I at least know little of you. If you truly are a man who saw the darkness of worlds… and knows the reality of things, then… I have faith that you will protect them. If I can project to you my emotions and little memories without infecting you of the curse, then, you will protect them… in my stead…."
Heruzen could see the complicated expressions Theo held in his eyes. But the dying soul was not lying. He could see that this man only had the best interest of his family; there was no agenda nor greed.
'His constant drinking and seeking out pleasures should have been to numb the pain. He fell into depravity willingly and chose to be taken over for the sake of his family….' Heruzen, finally smiled.
In that genuineness of his was an obsession. A warped and dark obsession that would do anything and everything for his family, it was at this time that Heruzen finally understood what kind of person Theo was.
'He even thought of fighting the Archduke on his own, erasing himself and taking the Archduke with him. He's a man of dedication and pure will.'
He was a Hero, yes, but someone who revels in the dark and would do everything to protect those around him.
"As I had said, you have no leverage, nothing but empty prattles—"
"He does have one!" in her bindings, the sorry sight of what used to be a Goddess summoned what little she collected from the prayers of the Mortals to form a mouth.
Heruzen showed interest, "Speak."
"He's born under the Star of a Hero, and if you choose to accept his offer and return, then, you will be—"
"A Hero? Sorry, but no thanks."
"You may not like it, but think of the advantages, Heruzen. Once you become a Hero, you will be free of the Gods' tampering. Haven't you questioned why Dark Gods and the Light Gods who hated Heroes didn't just smite them upon birth? Why prophesized God Killers don't keel over with a fateful lightning strike but only grow stronger?"
"Because they couldn't."
"That's right. Gods cannot do anything to a Hero unless something triggers aggression. Not even the other Gods know of this! Heroes are forever favored by the Laws of Life and would always be blessed and receive luck. They may be thrown into unlikely circumstances, but they are reborn, stronger if they overcome the trials.
"Now, think about it, Heruzen. If you play your cards right, your power will stop becoming mere God-like, but truly that of a God's. Become truly divine. Your stolen divinities will become infinite!"
Heruzen was stronger than any God, but he and they had a distinction. The power of a God does not rely on how strong an explosion you can create; no, it was on how many followers a Deity has.
Gods exist because of prayers, and the more followers you have, the stronger you become.
Gods, in Heruzen's eyes, are just more complicated Clout battle.
"You had my interest; now you have my attention. I'll accept your offer, boy; I'll protect your family. But, know that to receive the star's blessing, you and I must become one."
"But if you do that, you'll…"
"I'll be cursed by the Archduke, yes. It will render your sufferings useless, but I'll be free, so in the end, I take advantage of the situation, so what does it matter to me?" Heruzen didn't care. After around 50 or more lives of being connected to them, he had grown numb.
"Heruzen doing that is no—"
"Shut up." Heruzen took away the Goddess' ability to speak for another time, "Shhh, you are no longer a part of this conversation."
Heruzen extended his hands forward, "Take my hand, and you will be a part of me. You and me, as one."
"But, the curse… you will be in pain, Sir Heruzen…."
Heruzen scoffed, "Theo, an Archduke is only a low ranking being. Archduke, Generals, Kings, Emperors, Level Lord, and then Darkness itself. The pain is bearable, and I can make it disappear. You do not need to disappear, Theo… you don't need to sacrifice yourself… take my hand… let me… no, let us be the one to save our family."
To a man who had been suffering for more than nine years, a hand outstretched was salvation. As Theo took that hand, his tears fell from joy. He looked at Heruzen, at peace, "Thank you."
Dust, he became, and broken memories Heruzen received.
Theo's memories were broken due to his weak and cracked soul, but the nine years of torture were intact, fresh. His worries, pains, guilt, and anxiousness, all received by Heruzen without a single gap.
Slowly, the memories returned to the present, and there, he saw Theo meeting with the cloaked men. Heruzen watched them reach out to him with false promises.
Heruzen opened his eyes, "There they are..."
"Heruzen… or should I call you Theo?" The Goddess suddenly spoke; she broke free of his speel for another time.
"Oh, I was too focused that I freed you? As for your question, you can call me whatever you want, Goddess… or should I just call you bitch?"
The Goddess let out an exasperated sigh. She still hated Heruzen, but something about her eyes changed. She was baffled and confused, "Why did you absorb him?"
"To get the blessing of the Star. To become a Hero, of course. Why else?"
"Don't act dumb, Heruzen. I explicitly told you that, "If you accept his offer," no matter how roundabout I may have been, you should've been able to read my intention—ack"
Heruzen grabbed the Goddess by the neck with an invisible hand, "Just because you are free does not mean I see you as a friend."
The Goddess stumbled as she was set free, holding her neck; she bit her lips in frustration, "…I just want to know why. Getting that mark wasn't a needed risk."
The last of the light merged with him. On his palms, a burning sensation surfaced, but he hardly even reacted. Looking at it, it was a black symbol, a dragon eating its tail, 'The Archduke of Greed… how fitting.'
"Maybe, your little endeavor with the boy worked too well. You should be proud, Lady Bitch—oh, you didn't tell me what to call you, so I'm sticking with Bitch. Seems kinda fitting right now, as well." Heruzen then turned to the Goddess of Bitches, "Okay with the mark confirm, time to do this."
The Goddess was horrified seeing Heruzen walk in her direction.
"What do you mean by that?"
"That means I'm not going to keep a liability like you."
"You can't kill me! You'll die too!"
"I know—"
Tap… tap!
"Heruzen?"
Heruzen began walking towards her his hands, glowing.
"Theo!?"
Tap! Tap!
"Seriously, what is your name? I have to know, after all—"
"What are you planning!?"
Theo stopped right in front of the Goddess, "—I need a proper name for my System."