Siren~
The sound of an ambulance reached the women surrounded by a crowd. Blood riddled her whole body, giving an impression that she was at death's door.
Hearing the ambulance nearing her, the woman, who was in her early twenties, didn't seem relieved at all.
'Why is it like this....I just wanted to make up with my friends...why did they have to react so violently...?'
The woman was an orphan, so to her these friends were the only important thing in life. However, their relationship had been strained due to unknown reasons.
The light flashing by her eyes felt brighter than the sun, making the woman close her eyes involuntarily.
When she opened her eyes again, the woman found herself in an unknown room.
Reborn in the body of a young girl, named Vousenne.
And it was also in the world of a novel that she read as a teen.
'The rise of the holy empire.'
.....
Looking at Veren walking past her, Vousenne wasn't surprised.
They had met a few times, but Vousenne refused to communicate with him, knowing his future as a villain.
'....A demi-god...' Vousenne felt nervous just thinking about it.
Nevertheless, she felt indignant seeing no one helping her like always.
'It's been like this for the past two weeks....?' Vousenne froze, feeling a pair of eyes on her back.
Turning back, she saw Veren blankly take a glance at her, which strangely sent chills throughout her body.
The action done by Veren next surprised her further. He said something to a maid nearby and the maid escorted her back with care. This had never happened to her in the past!
Vousenne was abandoned by Duke Walprus, after finding out about her condition. She didn't have long to live.
'But I survived in the novel...so it should be alright, yeah...?' She wondered, she didn't bother reading the side story of the character Vousenne.
What shocked her more was that – the spirit within her body reacted in a strange way.
["Keep your distance with that boy. He didn't help due to Goodwill just now..."]
It was Vousenne's contracted spirit, the queen of water spirits.
'What do you mean...?' Vousenne frowned, she was just wondering if she had been prejudiced towards Veren.
["I can look into the mind of other mortals, possessed soul. I hate it...but I will abide by the contract."]
["That human's mind has been most likely corrupted by dark divinity. I took a look at his mind and…I only found thousands of chains surrounding his mind. It is the most eerie thing I have seen in my life."]
The chain was not what made the queen of water spirits disgusted.
It was actually what the chain was tightly locking.
["That is definitely not a human...it's more like a curse....a curse caste by himself on his own mind."]
"....." Vousenne didn't really understand, but still nodded her head.
It was pointless to build any relationship with Veren anyway. His soul would later be taken over by a demi-god....
....
Sunrays entered into the library through the windows, illuminating the shelves filled with books.
Taking a glance around himself, Veren was surprised. Every book contained a faint glow of divinity on it.
'Beginner ritualists can sense divinity naturally. Seeing how I can do it already, my mind must have been affected by the black mask too....'
The type of divinity within the body affects the soul. It was a natural process in which divinity nourishes the soul.
This process was different for Veren, it made his soul compatible with the demi-god that would descend. He couldn't allow it to continue on.
Truthfully, Veren would choose the holy church above the pale mask.
No one in the holy empire knew yet that their God, sacred light had died 100 years ago. Only his divinity remained, allowing the holy kingdom to run this far.
'Due to this reason, choosing the holy church is apparent. I'm almost guaranteed to become a god with all the knowledge I have.' Veren considered while picking the books one by one.
Learning ritual in his room was more comfortable than the library.
'But...it's impossible to choose the holy empire for me now. My body has already been modified by this mask. The next option would be....the path of neutrality. The god of this path has been dead for 3,000 years. I just have to pick up his inheritance and develop a holy element alongside dark divinity in my body...'
This was the process that Veren didn't want to do.
Having dark and holy divinity within one body. Such existence only existed in the pale mask organization. They were the best personnel to use as spies in the holy kingdom.
This is where the problem arises.
To create a body to house both of this element, the bearer has to go through excruciating pain everyday intentionally, it was further true for Veren. As he had the dark mask, which made it compulsory for him to practice.
The balance of the both elements must be maintained.
Veren didn't like pain, no, he hated it. It made him remember the things that he wanted to forget the most.
He began walking back to his room, with five books in his hands.
'I can't ascend to godhood with both dark and holy divinity in my body. It's different for the path of neutrality. I will think further after I see how much it hurts while the mask ejects dark divinity into my body.'
Veren wasn't aware of the hell that was approaching him. It made everything that he went through this far seem like a joke.
'Vousenne....I remember her backstory too. The reason for her personality being twisted and how she got past her disease....it all happens when she turns 10...' Veren coldly looked at the books.
'It doesn't have anything to do with me. She will get past it by herself anyway.' Veren calmly opened one of the books and began reading it.
Time went by without noticing and the lunch was sent into Veren's room, allowing him to get out of his trance.
'My soul got filled with the words of God without me needing to chant....' Veren held his head feeling electrifying pain coursing through it.
He had been sitting in a trance so he didn't notice, but he had only completed reading a single page in the past few hours.
'I will have to wait for three days before I can continue reading again. It's better than two weeks I guess....' Veren sighed and got up, feeling like he was high on alcohol.