500th Time Reborn, A World Only Known By Women: The Karma System

Chapter 641 Filling The Holes Pt 10

"You have to fight this!" I screamed out, but Xieus just screamed back with bloodlust I could feel hit me.

"I have almost completely consumed her, and you will never get her back, Godling!"

Her monstrosity gripped tighter around my throat, the venomous glare in her eyes penetrating my soul. My breath was ragged, each gasp of air a battle on its own. Despite the inevitability looming large, I wasn't ready to cede to the darkness.

Seeing her like this was heartbreaking, an agonizing reminder of my failure. But even as I gasped for air, I knew I would do whatever it took to bring her back. I was a god, and gods did the impossible.

"Heartless monster!" I spat out, pushing against the iron grip around my throat, trying my best to remain composed in the face of her absolute power. I had seen her humanity, the love that shone brightly in her eyes – she was not this terrifying creature.

Slowly, the grinding pain lessened, as my divine powers began to heal the damage she inflicted. This was my hope, my salvation. No matter how grave the wounds, my powers would regenerate my body, giving me sustained strength to continue the battle.

But the real change had to come from within her. She had been tricked, manipulated, and exploited by a being that resided inside her since birth. This creature was not Xieus. She was not a monster. Just an innocent victim of a long-played sinister game.

I would save her. I kept telling myself that, but there was an icy feeling starting to fill my body. If this didn't stop, there would be nothing left of this planet. Flashes of Matthias ran through my mind, and as if on cue, Xieus's form started to laugh.

"You finally see, don't you? This world, or this one single life? What will you do? I know that Truth will not let me exist in his reality, but he is not here, is he? You know what that means, Godling?"

The realization hit me with the force of a freight train. Truth... The enigmatic entity that had given me my power, but only because we stole that power. That is what I was led to believe, but if there was any truth in what this Dark Nightmare Empress had said, he picked me. And now I had been brought to this planet to find this person...

[And kill them. There is no other way.]

I closed my eyes, and then opened them back up again, divine galactic flames covering my body as the fog burned from my mind. Everything. All my Pain. It was all this creature's fault, and I was tired of walking his line.

"What do you think you can do? Don't you think we have done this a hundred times before?" Truth asked me and I smashed into him.

"Shut the fuck up! I will fight you a thousand times or for the rest of existence!" I screamed as the realization finally hit me.

"I had to take the memories away from you, or you would have never kept going," Truth said as he effortlessly blocked everything I threw at him.

"We never stole your eyes! You never needed to do what you did to Matthias! You forced all of this, and look at how many have died?! Do you even care?!" I raged, but Truth stopped me in mid-air, frozen in place.

"No, I don't. Why do you think I care about the ants below my feet? You can blame me all you want, but I choose you because you are a coward. That entity you are fighting is right about both of us, but she is also a psychopath. You can kill others, but when it matters, you are a coward. I knew you would make every choice you did, and I restricted your power at times so you would reach the path you are on now. I care nothing for you, only the unknown that surrounds you, Galio."

His words hammered into me, a brutal assault on my already wavering fortitude. The guilt, and the pain of my past mistakes, had all been manipulated by him. Guided to this path of destruction. Was this my fate to eventually fail, despite my heart's intentions? Was this my destined path? My mind revolted at the blatant manipulation. It was too cruel, too unjust.

"A coward, you say," I spat back, choking on my rage, "Well I might be a coward, afraid of failure and making mistakes. But it doesn't make me a puppet under your control."

Truth just shook his head. "True, I can no longer see what comes before you, so I have no reason to guide you anymore. I only care about the new and fresh future that is before you. I also advise you when I think that I can help. While I might be out for only my own interests, you are the main one. Have I guided you through pain? Thoroughly, but being a god requires you to separate yourself from the ants. Still, I would be pleased if you killed more and asked less questions. I am telling you, you would do a lot better in life!"

Livid, I shot back, "I am not you. I will never be you. I care about the 'ants', as you so coldly call them. I am not a puppet. I am not a toy. I am not your godling."

"You will be," he sneered. "Your path is inevitable. You can't change it, no matter how hard you try. And believe me, you will try."

My blood ran cold. The thought of being morphed into a creature like Truth, who perceived life and death, joy and pain, as mere trivialities, was my worst nightmare come to life.

"Over my soul," I snarled, my eyes glowing with divine power as I summoned the last vestiges of my energy. "I refuse to walk down your path of merciless brutality."

"Oh, but you will," Truth replied nonchalantly, his gaze locked onto mine, a smug smile playing on his lips. "Because that's the only path that exists for you. You were born to be a god, Galio, not a hero."

I bristled at his words, the mocking lilt in his voice igniting my fury anew. "Then let it be. I'll redefine what being a god means. I'll play your game but by my own rules."

"So be it," he replied indifferently, spreading his hands in a universal gesture of surrender. "Play by your rules, and see where it gets you."

"Perhaps it'll get me somewhere better than where your rules have brought me," I retorted, my gaze hardening with determination. "I will save Xieus, and I will stop you."

"You have already failed. Your memories are unblocked, so you know the truth of this. Had you come and talked to me calmly, I would have let you skip this memory. Since that is not the case, you will watch helplessly as you squash the ant to prevent the entire universe from being torn apart. It is clear to me that even after 14 billion years, you have learned little to nothing. You will learn, even if it takes another 14 billion years, times mean everything, but nothing. That is my Truth."

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