Pitch black darkness.

What met my sight upon activating Monarch's indifference was pitch black darkness.

The darkness seemed to be unending.

But it wasn't long before I regained consciousness and wondered to myself.

'What's going on?'

Why was I in this pitch-black word? ...and why could I move as I pleased?

This had never happened before, back when I activated Monarch's indifference.

Did that mean that my previous conjecture was correct and that Monarch indifference had a link with the shift in my mentality? Intense wariness flashed across my eyes.

Glancing around the place, I opened my mouth and coldly said.

"...Where are you? I know you're here somewhere.

"

Silence.

As my vice echoed amidst the darkness, all I was met with was silence. However, I wasn't one to give up easily as I once again opened my mouth.

"Come out. I've already figured things out.

"

"Hm.

"

It was then that with a soft hum, someone materialized a couple of meters away from me.

It was none other than the other Ren. Or at least, that was what I used to think. But now, I wasn't too sure.

With a thoughtful look on his face, he scanned my body from top to bottom.

"You're not half bad.

"

He muttered after a while.

I frowned at his words as I felt a weird sense of discomfort wash over my body. The sense of discomfort came from the way he was looking at me.

It reminded me of a scientist looking at his experiment. It felt very uncomfortable.

Calming down my nerves, I looked straight into the other Ren's eyes and got straight to the point.

With my limited amount of time, I could only carefully choose my questions.

"...You were the one responsible for what happened to Emma, weren't you?

"

"Me?

"

Lifting his head, the other Ren raised his brow. A small smile then surfaced on his face as he shook his head.

"Now why would you think that?

"

"...Because I would never make such a mistake.

"

"Oh? Aren't you confident in yourself?

"

Waving his hand, a wooden table materialized in front of the other Ren. Gesturing for me to sit down opposite of him, Ren sat down and raised his hand where a small teacup materialized.

Holding onto the handle of the cup, he raised the cup slightly. A small smile tugged the edge of his lips.

"Everything that happened is a result of your actions. I am merely someone whose body you took over.

"

"Don't bull** with me!

"

I quickly shot back.

"You can stop your little facade. I know that you're hiding something.

"

Walking over to the table, I sat down. Leaning forward, I coldly looked at the other Ren.

"I don't know what you're hiding, but I for sure know that you must've had a hand in my transmigration.

"

"...I'm hiding something? Transmigration?

"

Raising his hand, Ren took a sip of his tea before putting it back down on the table.

Rubbing his fingers together, he asked a completely unrelated question.

"What is your goal?

"

"My goal?

"

Baffled by his sudden question, I was unable to answer instantly.

Nodding his head, Ren once again asked.

"Yes, what is your goal? What is your goal in life? What are you aiming to achieve in your life? It's a simple question.

"

Hearing his question, my eyes squinted tightly.

Despite being baffled by his sudden question, I still nevertheless answered. I wanted to see where he was going with it.

"...Defeating the demon king.

"

Upon hearing my answer, Ren nodded his head even more.

"Right, your goal is to defeat the demon...no, defeating should be the roadblock that you need to pass through in order to get to your real goal such as living a peaceful life with your family, or even being the head of the Union.

"

Picking up his cup of tea, Ren gazed into the distance, towards the darkness.

"If the demon king doesn't die, whatever goal you have will be all for naught.

"

Listening to his words, I didn't reply back.

Even if I wanted to refute his words, I couldn't. His words held some truths in them.

Unless the demon king died, any other goal that I had would all be for naught.

For example, if my goal was to keep my family safe unless I defeated the demon king that would be impossible.

Raising my head, my eyes squinted even more tightly.

"Get to the point.

"

Taking another sip of his head, Ren put the teacup down.

"I've just answered your previous question.

"

"What are you talking about?

"

What answer? I don't recall ever hearing his answer.

All he did was ramble about how I should defea—wait. He couldn't be?

Raising my head, my eyes opened up.

"You..

"

Opening my mouth, I closed it and opened it again. I was currently having trouble trying to formulate my sentence.

Seated opposite me, Ren just calmly looked at me with a superficial smile on his face.

"...You're talking about the incident with Emma, aren't you? It really was you.

"

My hunch turned out to be right. It really was him!

He was the reason why I did what I did and felt what I felt.

As my thoughts paused there, the anxiety within me only grew. If that was true, and what happened to Emma was truly due to his influence, didn't it prove all my previous conjectures?

My body shook at that revelation.

Closing my eyes, instead of panicking I forced myself to calm down.

It took me a while, but once I managed to calm myself down, I once again opened my eyes.

"What does Emma's circumstance have anything to do with defeating the demon king?

"

I asked, anger rising in my voice.

Resting his cheek on his fist, Ren frowned.

It was then that the air around him suddenly distorted and his demeanor changed to that of a cold and emotionless person. He looked just like me when I was under Monarch's indifference.

"Don't ask such dumb questions. You already know the answer.

"

A powerful force sprang out from his body, enshrouding the area around me as a dominant force completely enveloped me whole, making it hard for me to breathe.

'I knew it.'

Subjected to such force, I showed no reaction.

Closing my eyes, I didn't say anything else.

I already understood what he was trying to imply. How could I not? It was obvious, yet, I didn't want to acknowledge it.

"Emma, Amanda, Jin, or these so-called 'friends' are only emotional baggage that Kevin carries with him. He does not need them.

"

Opening my eyes, I gazed into the other Ren's eyes. Staring deep into his eyes, I could sense no shred of emotion inside of them.

Those eyes.

Those eyes reflected the eyes of a man who no longer cared for anything.

"You must've also sensed it. The current Kevin is far too soft. He does not have his priorities straight.

"

"He is the one that the akashic records chose, and yet he is the one that is least fit to carry on that role.

"

Ren suddenly stood up and turned his back away from me. His cold voice once again rang throughout the whole void.

"You want to keep your family safe? You want to defeat the demon king? You want to live?

"

Each and every question he asked powerfully rang inside of my head.

"...If so, this is the only way.

"

"No.

"

I shook my head and similarly stood up.

"That is not the only way to defeat the demon king.

"

Walking up to the other Ren, I stopped a couple of meters away from him.

"Yes, Kevin is soft, but he's still young. He can change. I don't see the need for you to hurt Emma or anyone that is close to him. What if he suddenly loses himself in the process? What would you do then?

"

"He won't.

"

Ren indifferently shook his head.

"...Kevin will never change. Fundamentally, he is wired to prioritize those that are close to him. He does not think of the bigger picture.

"

Turning to look at me, he continued. His dull eyes peered through my very being.

"You don't need to lie to yourself. Deep inside you know I'm right. Removing every single burden around Kevin will grant us the highest possibility of beating the demon king...isn't that how you previously thought? Have you suddenly changed the way you thought?

"

Meeting his gaze and listening to his words, my brows knit tightly.

"Why do you speak as though the future is certain?

"

Ren didn't answer.

Instead, turning around once more, he coldly said.

"It's far too early for you to know the truth. Just know, that I'm on your side and know that what I'm doing is for your benefit. We alone can't kill the demon king. Kevin is the pawn that we need to use in order to defeat him. Move him wisely.

"

"Wh—

"

Before I could ask any more questions, my consciousness started to slip. Realizing this, I cursed inside of my mind.

'Damn it, not yet. I want to ask more questions!'

Regardless, within a couple of seconds, my consciousness slipped and the world became even darker.

"We are cursed.

"

Were the last words I manage to hear before everything disappeared.

***

"Haa...

"

Raising his head, and staring into the spot where Ren used to stand, the other Ren let out a long exhale.

"...It seems like you've also become too soft.

"

He proceeded to shake his head in disappointment.

"If only you followed the plot like you were supposed to...

"

Extreme bitterness and disappointment could be felt in his voice as he said those words.

His face which had remained indifferent throughout the whole exchange suddenly twisted as he gnashed his teeth together and muttered.

"I had set everything up for you!

"

"All you had to do was follow the **ing plotline, and yet, you seem to throw away the ideals that I implanted into you as soon as you awoke!

"

A powerful aura sprang outwardly from his body as his face twisted in an extreme manner. Lifting his head and staring upwards, towards the darkness, he shouted.

"And you! You! Don't think for once that I will let you go! Once I defeat the demon king, and I will, I will come for you!

"

The more he spoke, the more his face twisted.

"Everything that is happening to me is because of you! You are the one that cursed me into this eternal prison! If only you did not choose such an incompetent person I would've never have suffered so much!

"

"It's all your fault!

"

His bloodcurdling voice reverberated throughout the void. As he shouted, His voice was filled with nothing but hatred.

It took a while for him to calm down, and when he did, his face returned to its usual indifferent self.

Closing his eyes, he coldly muttered.

"Nothing is lost. There are still many pieces that I can set into motion. Be it the current me, or Kevin, I will fix the both of you.

"

"No matter what you do, you will never escape me.

"

Turning his head in a certain direction, pressing his foot onto the void, Ren proceeded to head in that direction.

Step—! Step—!

Walking amidst the void, Ren's feet soon came to a pulse.

In front of him was a familiar white orb.

Compared to the previous time Ren had visited, the black threads revolving around the white orb had duplicated, and now, about a quarter of it was enveloped by them.

Walking up to the orb, Ren placed his hand on the white part.

Tsssss.

A low hissing sound rang out as Ren's hand started to fade.

"Not yet.

"

Ren mumbled before turning his attention away from the orb.

An ominous and solemn aura started revolving around his body as he slowly started to disappear.

"Things are processing a lot slower than I originally anticipated, if only you didn't figure things out so quickly...

"

Closing his eyes, Ren's body soon become completely transparent. But before his figure completely disappeared, he managed to utter a few more words.

"...Ren, one day you will understand. One day you will understand what I'm doing...and I will make sure you do.

"