Agony!
Unbearable, intense agony!
That was Tang Qi's first feeling upon regaining consciousness. The pain came crashing over him like a tidal wave, the kind of pain that could not be avoided no matter what means were used. It seemed to act directly on his soul, with the sources of the pain being his skull, wrists, and ankles.
As he instinctively wailed in pain, a series of hoarse, aged voices buzzed into his mind like the buzzing of flies, speaking in a complicated and obscure language. Strangely, Tang Qi understood it all.
"Oh great Arbiter of Judgment, hear your humble servant Morgan's call. For this lowly servant's soul, exchange for a young, fresh body. To this end, I offer up a sweet, youthful soul as sacrifice. Please, great Arbiter of Judgment, enjoy to your heart's content..."
Arbiter of Judgment? Who?
Is this a prank? Wasn't I out drinking with colleagues at a bar?
Or have I been kidnapped?
Wait...am I being crucified?
When Tang Qi realized this, the pain seemed to lessen slightly. With great difficulty, he opened his eyes, and his field of view gradually expanded from blurry to clear. An extremely horrifying and bizarre scene then came into view.
Before his eyes was a hazy, black shadow bubble. Judging from the bubble's boundaries, Tang Qi himself was inside this massive black bubble. Releasing this huge black bubble was an enormous, bronze-like apparatus with a mottled, variegated color—a strange set of scales.
On each end of the bronze pans of the scales was a blurry glow that seemed to be... humanoid?
That's right, they were humanoid.
Tang Qi's gaze pierced through the haze to see their true forms.
At one end was an unconscious youth with a delicate appearance, pale complexion, and slender build. He seemed to be having a nightmare, his face filled with terror.
At the other end was an extremely aged old black man with loose, ebony skin. Yet he was awake, crouching on the bronze pan with his hands in a strange position, muttering as if praying, as if making a request.
The direction of his prayers was precisely where Tang Qi was.
That's right, it was him.
Although the entire set of scales was in a swaying state, constantly changing directions with creaking sounds, no matter how it changed, the old black man always faced Tang Qi when praying.
"Could it be that the 'Arbiter of Judgment' is me?"
"Buzz..."
When Tang Qi realized something and gathered his courage to lower his head and look down, his already agonized mind exploded with a bang, as if smashed by a giant hammer. Countless afterimages surged up, and amid his wails of anguish he finally saw his true predicament.
He really was crucified on a cross, a very special cross.
Wherever Tang Qi lowered his head to look on the huge scales, he saw blood-red skull patterns that seemed to be symbols or words, emanating a bizarre and terrifying aura.
When Tang Qi wanted to twist his body to see more, pain more intense than ever before came surging wildly, still originating from his skull, wrists, and ankles.
Amid another anguished wail, Tang Qi saw clearly his own hazy, spectral form crucified on the skull-shaped cross, pierced through in five places by sharp nails—his skull, the wrists of both hands, and the ankles of both feet.
Tang Qi was terrified. How had he not died from such injuries?
"No, that's not right, I'm already dead. I'm now in a spiritual state."
"Those two are also spirits."
Tang Qi suddenly realized an extremely frightening truth. At that moment, his already terrified expression could be said to contort, a distorted, wailing spirit crucified, while the old black man who witnessed it all seemed to think it was normal and prayed even more fervently.
At the same time, Tang Qi's gaze suddenly pierced through the black bubble and saw the outside scene: a spacious, luxurious study; huge bookshelves; a desk that seemed to be made of rosewood; an extravagant crystal chandelier overhead; various exquisite little objects, all testifying to the wealth and taste of the owner.
But now, it was all ruined by the two "corpses" on the floor.
There was no blood or any signs of struggle or fighting, but on the floor were indeed two corpses laid side by side.
One corpse was a youth with black hair, delicate features, a pale complexion, and a slender body. He was dressed in fitted and meticulous clothes in a foreign style Tang Qi had never seen before.
The other corpse was that of an aged old black man with ordinary features and a gloomy air about him. He seemed to be wearing a butler's uniform.
Surrounding the two were burning candles with a color like fresh blood, arranged in a bizarre pattern outlined in white powder. Suspended above their heads in the middle area was an antique bronze set of scales.
"This is...?"
"Huff...huff..."
Stay calm, I must stay calm and not move. Take deep breaths. Tang Qi forced himself to calm down.
After a long while, he stammered in a trembling voice: "So after a drink, I woke up as a devil of some kind, my soul crucified on some crappy cross, and got mixed up in what is clearly a very evil ritual. That old black man who looks like an old butler seems to be the initiator of this ritual. He prayed to me to help him exchange for a younger body, even finding a target already?"
Tang Qi inferred his actual predicament by piecing together the old black man's prayers and the scene before him.
But he still could not move and break free of the five nails. Any movement would plunge him into boundless agony.
Now Tang Qi had two choices.
One was to agree to the old black man and help him exchange bodies, completing this evil ritual. Deep down, Tang Qi had a premonition that as soon as he opened his mouth, he could devour the soul on the left side of the scales, the unconscious youth.
That would complete the ritual. With one end of the scales missing a soul, the other end would naturally drop down, triggering some mechanism to allow the old black man's soul to enter the extremely youthful body below, changing in the blink of an eye from an aged black man into a delicate youth.
Tang Qi's second choice was naturally to refuse the old black man. The consequences of this choice were unknown to Tang Qi. After refusing, what would happen? It would be even more miserable to fail even as a devil after crossing over into this state.
Could he accept such an outcome?
"No, there must be a way, a way out."
"Think of it, I can think of it."
A strong will to live caused Tang Qi's mind to operate like never before. However, in his previous life he was just an ordinary white-collar worker in the city. Faced with such a dead end as a devil for just a moment, how could he come up with a way out in such a short time?
And time was passing quickly.
One second!
Two seconds!
Three seconds!
Tang Qi's distorted soul grew dimmer and dimmer. The old black man who had been praying all along raised his head in some astonishment, seeming puzzled as to why his ritual was not working. At this time, Tang Qi saw clearly that this old black man was absolutely an evil existence.
That aged face was full of gloom and cruelty, and the hazy soul was filled with black threads—a muddled evildoer.
However, what kind of existence the old black man was no longer seemed important. Tang Qi's skull grew heavier and heavier, more and more muddled. He even felt that he had lost the strength to devour that sacrifice. Perhaps in the next second he would completely dissipate.
Or sink into slumber.
In this final moment, Tang Qi suddenly had an absurd thought. He wanted to see what position he was in now, whether it was really exactly the same as Jesus.
When this thought emerged, Tang Qi's gaze suddenly shifted and he actually saw his own hazy soul in a twisted position, crucified on the cross, really exactly the same as Jesus.
"Hmm?"
"This is...?"
Tang Qi suddenly froze, his eyes dull, as if seeing something incredible.
Fortunately, he did not stay stunned for too long and quickly came to his senses.
He looked carefully at the bizarre interface that had appeared before him at some unknown time.
Name: Tang Qi
Status: Weak
Occupation: Arbiter of Judgment
[Information Fragment 1: As the Arbiter of Judgment, your duty is to receive the sacrifice and then place the sacrificer's soul into the target body. ]
[Information Fragment 2: Before you carry out your judgment, the souls on both sides cannot leave. You can devour the sacrifice on the left, but unless the sacrificer on the right takes the initiative, you cannot harm him. ]
[Information Fragment 3: As the Arbiter of Judgment, once you leave the soul-swapping scales, your soul will dissipate within 3 seconds.]
[Information Fragment 4: If you choose not to judge this time, the sacrifice will automatically be absorbed by the scales, and you will also fall into slumber. ]
"Is this...my golden finger?"
As an avid web novel fan in his previous life, Tang Qi was of course very clear on the standard benefits that came with rebirth and transmigration—accompanied by some kind of golden finger.
Tang Qi thought that as a devil, he did not have this benefit, but at this time it suddenly appeared.
"There's a chance, the only chance."
Tang Qi's gaze did not care about any other interface at all, focusing entirely on the second and third information fragments.
Excitement like a warm current made Tang Qi's increasingly dim soul suddenly become more solid. Borrowing this little recovered strength, Tang Qi opened his mouth and uttered in a hoarse, deep voice that surprised even himself:
"Humble believer, your sacrifice...is not enough."
At this moment, Tang Qi's outward appearance was like a real twisted devil, wailing and roaring.