"How do you feel after having your revenge?" I asked looking at the reflection of my body in its soul form, the original Ray Allen.
"Empty..." Ray answered, knitting his eyebrows and gritting his teeth. "I was once like you, trying to find answers to all of this... I once searched for the meaning behind everything. I... wanted to find myself... all of this... It remains a meaningless dream now... At this point, what even is the meaning of life?"
"Humans live only for eighty to hundred years, it is like living in a dream that seems to end in an instant. The point of living is to experience the journey of life and witness the interesting things it has to offer, does it truly matter when it ends? If I were to die now in place of the wizard, I would die without regrets knowing that I lived a meaningful life. After dying once, I understood that life isn't about how long you can experience this journey, it's about what you experience in that journey," I explained, looking into his lifeless eyes that finally shone from the centre.
"So... My life wasn't meaningless to anyone?" Ray asked like a child.
"No, your life wasn't meaningless, not to those who knew and cared about you, not to anyone who had the slightest idea of who you were. Your life matters to me, your life matters to many others. Your life isn't worthless," I answered, extending my hand towards him. "But... Now it's time to let go... let go of the regrets, Ray; it's time for you to be free from these attachments..."
"I suppose so... Thank you for everything, Ray Allen," Ray said, smiling in my direction and holding my hand. "However, since you answered my questions... It would be rude for me to not answer yours."
"What?" I asked before a rush of energy came from his direction, trying to override my vessel.
Argh...
I kneeled on the ground, grabbing my head as I screamed in pain; it felt as if my whole vessel was getting torn apart from the inside; I was losing control of it.
All of a sudden the pain in my vessel... stopped?
"What?" I asked myself before something started to make noises beside my heart...
I tried to understand what had just happened to my body when the pain started all over again beside my heart.
Argh...
I couldn't understand what was happening to me; it felt as if something was growing within my body, right beside my heart, something was trying to create its place for itself.
Unable to bear the pain I finally fell beside the wizard, dropping my head on the pool of blood formed by his headless corpse.
Again, the pain stopped. However, I could feel that this was the last time as I felt a new beat beside my heart.
"What?" I asked myself again, holding my chest where the new beat came from. "What?!"
"Two souls combining into one and residing in one body that's mostly made up of energy... Never thought I would see that kind of mutation occur, this is a new one," Ryuk said, looking down at my face. "Your vessel is currently over ninety percent energy. It's adapting to the mutation by forming a new heart; I don't know how that helps in any way; I am not a spiritual biologist."
"... Did he just try to take over my body right now?" I asked, looking up at Ryuk.
"Well, it wasn't your body, to begin with; he should be the one suing you for living in his vessel unwarranted for five years," Ryuk commented, in a jocular tone.
"... When you say it like that, it does make sense," I said, sighing at my situation.
I calmed myself down and got up from the ground before adjusting my clothes, dusting off the blood so that there wouldn't be any further stains.
"I need a bath... There is blood all over my hair," I said, before kneeling beside the corpse of the wizard and taking away the bag that he carried underneath his cloak.
The bag was a normal leather bag with lots of potions, herbs, materials and rubbish, nothing relevant enough to look at.
I rummaged through his stuff before I came across a back rock that had a slight scratch on it, which showed its inside colour.
'A stone that looked like a normal rock on the outside but a marble on the inside.', that was the description I wrote for the Cyrus stone.
"The Cyrus stone..." I said, sighing in relief. "It exists in this world... Phew..."
"Is that a pretty big deal?" Ryuk asked, in a curious tone.
"The Cyrus stone is an ability stone that can grant me the meta ability called [Copy], although the wizard used it to create a golem with his magic, that wasn't the correct way to use it. I need to purify this stone before I can consume it," I explained while looking at the stone. "I still can't believe that he decided to combine our souls into one, that fool... I don't even know if it will work anymore because of the mutation that happened to my body."
"Ok, calm down, Ray; it can be helpful as well," Ryuk said, trying to calm me down.
I know what you mean, if I want to learn magic, aura or summoning, I would need a definite perspective, something that I don't have. However, now that both of our souls are combined, I have his perspective. I can now become a wizard, an aura user, or a summoner. I spoke in my mind while opening the doors to the manor.
But before I could do any of that, I needed to see if my current body was even capable of handling a mana heart.
"Welcome back, young master," Alfred greeted me, as I opened the door, he was standing in front of the door with a black towel in his hand. "How did it feel, having killed someone?"
"I... feel empty, Alfred. Did I have to kill him?" I asked, lowering my head. "Why did they try to kill me? What have I ever done to them? I even wanted to negotiate with him but... He wouldn't listen."
"Life is full of the unexpected; you can't find a meaning for everything by searching for it. In life, you will encounter people who live for themselves, but you will also meet people who live for others; some of them will do things that don't mean anything to them, simply to satisfy others," Alfred explained, opening the towel and putting it on my head. "You would need to find the one who was behind them to find out why they were trying to kill you."
"So they were simply pawns for this game... and so was I?" I asked, looking down at the ground.
"No, young master, you are not a pawn, not anymore; you are someone who broke free from his shackles; you are the one who is far above them," Alfred said, kneeling on one knee. "You are now an Allen, someone who controls the rules."
"He is wrong on one part; you were always an Allen," Ryuk corrected him, knowing that Alfred couldn't hear him.
"Now then, I have prepared a bath for you; how about you get changed? I don't think it would be a good idea to go to sleep with all that blood on you," Alfred stated, standing up from the ground.
"Right... I shouldn't think so much about such horrific matters before going to sleep; I don't like nightmares," I said before walking towards the stairs.
After acting like I cared about everything that happened and managed to fool Alfred, I entered the bathroom on the second floor.
The bathroom was a bit fancy; the floor was made of smooth marble, and in the middle, there was a big bathtub with shiny silver taps. There was a large shower with glass walls and several showerheads; two mirrors covered the walls, and soft lights made the room feel even bigger. Towels hung on racks, and the countertops were made of quartz, with bottles of lotions and soaps.
The square bathtub was four meters on each side. There was clear water rippling gently in it with steam emitting from it. It was quite a dreamy sight.
I took off my outerwear and lay in the bathtub, which caused some of the water to fall off from it.
I tried to think about everything that happened in just one day, laying in the water calmed me down a little.
I still can't believe everything that happened in just one day, why did he have to combine his soul with mine? I spoke in my mind.
"Just like you, he didn't fear death. All he ever wanted were answers, and you provided him with just that. He was trying to repay you for that, you are the one who allowed him to have his revenge against the wizard. You were the one who freed him from his suffering, how could he dislike you?" Ryuk asked, looking at me. "If there wasn't even a sliver of kindness within you, could you expect to grow a second heart?"
I guess we are two sides of the same coin. I replied.
"And don't think that he is completely dead, I think there is a chance that he is very much alive within your body," Ryuk continued. "Although I have never come across this type of phenomenon, there is a chance that his consciousness is hidden deep within your soul. It would be fun to watch if you were to develop a second personality."
I hope I don't, I don't like things that interfere with my actions. I said, looking at the mirror. But if he is somewhere in there, I would try to free him if possible.