NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 26: You? Become Me?
"Become you? You?"
The Herrscher erupted in mocking laughter. Her inky form exploded, transforming into a swirling black smoke that slammed Lin Wei against the wall. He grunted in pain, his head spinning.
The smoke coalesced before him, solidifying into his exact likeness—appearance, clothes, height, everything. "Lin Wei" sneered, his expression manic, one hand gripping Lin Wei's throat, pinning him against the wall.
"Becoming you is child's play. Replacing you is even easier. Open your eyes and see. You can't even resist my hand! Insect, do you understand now? You are powerless!"
Then, the Herrscher's brow twitched, a cruel smile spreading across her face.
"Oh, I seem to recall something from your memories… Ah, yes, the 'Herrscher code.'"
She pretended to think, then feigned sudden realization, tightening her grip on his throat.
"I've entered the code for you, pathetic human. Shouldn't you be bursting with power now, ready to strike back? Show me your strength! Your resolve! All you can do is whimper like a dying dog, unable to resist?"
"Lin Wei, what makes you think you can negotiate with me, bargain with me, play games with me? Invite me on a journey? Ha! AHAHAHAHA! What a joke!"
The Herrscher loathed this insignificant ant. He'd ruined her hopes of freedom, her future. He'd humiliated her with his petty tricks.
He'd ruined her past, her future, the very meaning of her existence. He'd used his pathetically short and laughably absurd memories to make her question her own purpose!
A game? A joke? Her entire life, all her suffering, just entertainment for someone else? Then what was the point of her fifty thousand years of torment, her pent-up rage and hatred?
And now, he dared to invite her on a journey?
Damn him! He deserved to die!
No, that was too merciful.
She would crush his spirit, toy with his soul, make him regret his arrogance.
She would show him what it meant to be truly helpless, to beg for death and be denied.
The image of him writhing in agony, pleading for mercy, sent a thrill down her spine, a perverse pleasure that intoxicated her, almost making her moan.
Not yet.
Lin Wei choked, his face turning purple, his throat rattling. He dangled helplessly, one hand clawing at the arm that held him, the other still clutching the golden spear.
"Heh, even now, you cling to your pathetic toy?"
The Herrscher scoffed at his futile resistance. She opened her mouth, exhaling a black smoke, a distillation of her most painful memories, her deepest fears, fermented over fifty thousand years into a venomous brew.
This was the poison that had tormented her for millennia, the very thing that had kept her clinging to existence.
She poured it into Lin Wei's soul, released him, and watched as he collapsed, convulsing on the floor. She reveled in his agony, his crumbling spirit.
Could a mere mortal with a twenty-year lifespan withstand fifty thousand years of concentrated venom?
The Herrscher felt a wave of satisfaction, reminiscent of her torment of Yae Sakura—a deep, malicious joy.
She crouched, tilting her head, admiring his tear-streaked face. She tugged at the spear he still clutched, but it wouldn't budge.
"Tsk." Her mood soured.
She didn't know why she was suddenly so irritable. Perhaps because his pathetic, futile resistance was wasting her precious time? She didn't care. She wasn't interested in analyzing it.
She wrenched the useless spear from his grasp, kicked him across the room, and hurled the spear back at him, pinning him to the floor.
"Ah~" She stretched, feeling much better. Five hundred years of tormenting Yae Sakura had grown tiresome. This ant had offered himself up, and even managed to annoy her in the process.
The thought darkened her mood again. She glared at him, then chuckled.
Just another game.
Wait, was it really over?
"Lin Wei, you said you wanted to become me. I gave you the chance, and this is how you repay me?"
She calmed down, a sense of unease settling in. This "corpse," pinned to the floor, had outmaneuvered her multiple times, humiliated her, forced her to resort to brute force.
He could flip the table, but so could she. They were both playing this game.
"This… this truly is agonizing… A soul-chilling terror, a paralyzing fear, a cold dread like the end of the world… Heh, how familiar… almost nostalgic… almost… intoxicating…"
Lin Wei's murmur, though weak, was strangely calm, as if he were ignoring her presence.
He pulled the spear from his chest with a sickening thud. The gushing blood stopped instantly, the wound vanishing as if it had never been there.
He slowly rose, meticulously wiped the blood off the spear with his sleeve, exhaled, looked down at himself, and chuckled. The chuckle grew into laughter, tears streaming down his face.
"What are you laughing about?" The Herrscher, her energy spent, no longer felt like tormenting him.
It was pointless.
How could someone be so infuriatingly resilient?
She was baffled, disgusted.
"Alright, Rin, have you had enough fun?"
Lin Wei gasped for breath, laughing at his absurd gamble, his shameless trickery, which had, against all odds, worked again. He was laughing at his own audacity.
"I'm already dying. Death is my constant companion. It doesn't scare me."
"I'm human, you're a Herrscher. We're on different levels. I can't resist you, that's only natural. Your power doesn't scare me either."
She couldn't kill him here. As long as his will remained unbroken, she was powerless.
A human couldn't defeat a Herrscher. Wasn't that a given?
By acknowledging his weakness, he became invincible.
This was a tactic only a weak, insignificant mortal could employ. Kiana, with her immense power, could never do this.
He actually felt a sense of pride? God, he was shameless.
Lin Wei laughed, then looked up at the Herrscher, his expression serious.
"As for that deep-seated pain and resentment… Rin, since you've seen my memories, haven't you noticed?"
"My soul… is already black."
He no longer needed the spear for support. He twirled it casually, his eyes following its movement. He smiled, a genuine smile that the Herrscher found incredibly annoying.
"We've both played our cards. I can't defeat you, and you can't destroy me."
"Instead of this stalemate, why don't we talk? Rin?"