Extra's Death: I Am the Son of Hades

He opened his eyes when he located Jack.

Jack was far from him.

Thousands of vengeful souls flew in circles around him.

The souls pounced on Neo when he approached the area.

Go died. Die. Die. Monsters like you two should not live. Why did I die? You should be the one to die. Kill yourself. You are disgusting. You do not deserve to live.

The souls could do nothing but shout.

They were not harmful to Neo.

He stopped before Jack, who was crouching on the ground, holding his knees with his back facing Neo.

"…"

"…"

Both of them remained silent.

The wails of souls echoed between them.

Finally, after a dozen long seconds, Jack opened his mouth.

"…Why are you here?"

"Make a guess."

Jack remained silent for a few seconds before he answered.

"I'm not coming back."

"Why?"

"Look around you. I don't deserve to live."

The souls shouted when they heard him.

That is right! You do not deserve anything! Rot here for eternity! Give us your body! Compensate for killing us!

"You are listening to them?" Neo said. "Those souls have been corrupted. They are just spouting bullshit."

"But they are not wrong."

"So, is this where you stop?"

Instead of answering, Jack turned around.

His eye sockets were empty and tears of blood and pieces of flesh poured out of them.

"I can't go back anymore. I've become a monster."

"Monsters don't talk like you do."

"This is the last remaining piece of my soul. It won't be long before I'm corrupted completely."

"You know…"

Neo raised his head and stared at the thousands of vengeful souls flying about.

"The corruption will slow down considerably if you stop feeling guilty."

".....Why aren't you blaming me?"

"For what?"

"I've… I've killed tens of thousands! Even if they were shadows, they looked like humans, they talked like humans,

"They lived like humans!"

A powerful wave spread out from Jack.

Neo's clothes fluttered wildly.

'This isn't going to work.' Neo closed his eyes. 'He is drowning in guilt. I can't help him if this continues.'

He clicked his tongue.

"Then, should I kill you?"

"…?"

"If you don't want to live, then the next best thing is to die. The souls you've devoured will only continue to suffer if you are alive."

Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! He will live! He needs to feel our anger! He needs to give up his body—

"Next time you interrupt me, be ready to be devoured."

The souls shrunk back when they heard Neo's cold voice.

"Get lost."

Darkness bloomed beneath Neo and created a Coffin of Darkness around him and Jack.

The dome made of darkness stopped the voices temporarily.

Jack remained silent.

He stared at Neo with hollow eyes.

"Sigh," Neo massaged the back of his neck with one hand. "I wasn't planning on telling you this, but…

"If this helps you make up your mind about whether you should live or die, then I'll do so.

"The world we've come to isn't a normal Shadow World."

Jack reacted when he heard the word 'Shadow World.'

"Haven't you noticed something weird? Everything here is too similar to the real world.

"Shadow Worlds are visibly different in normal cases. It's easy to tell them apart from our world.

"But this world is different. The level of mimicry is too high," Neo said.

"Why are… you explaining this… to me?"

"Jack, when do you think a 'Shadow' becomes a real person? When it devours the original body?"

Jack didn't answer.

His mind had been weakened, and he was unable to think.

He could only listen.

"No, a Shadow becomes real when there is no difference between itself and the original. They do it by devouring the original."

"…?"

"This world is... Everything here is the same as the real world.

"There is no difference. That's why, this world is 'real' too."

"No… This world is different… This place isn't our world."

Jack denied Neo's words instinctively.

He could feel what Neo was going to say, and the consequences of those words horrified him.

"[Resonance]. When the World Core and a demigod's Core resonate, the demigod gains pseudo-elemental affinity.

"What do you think will happen when two different worlds, similar to each other, resonate?

"The Worlds won't share pseudo-elemental affinity.

"Something else happens. You should able to guess it."

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

"They become one."

"Stop talking!"

"The entities living in the Shadow World don't know they are Shadows.

"They think they are real and that they have their own will.

"And still, everything they do is what has happened in the real world already. Why do you think this happens, Jack?"

"I said stop!"

"Because the worlds resonate. They've become one even if they are two."

"Please… Stop… hic hic…"

"What happens in the real world happens here, and what happens here happens in the real world."

"No… hic hic… I've killed them… hic…"

"Shadow Worlds like this one are called 100% Synchronized Worlds. The Shadow Sovereign doesn't open this place to many as any change you do here…

"It will affect reality."

Neo continued mercilessly,

"You've killed thousands of real people, not Shadows."

Jack's nails dug into his skin as he held his head.

He shouted.

He cried.

He banged his head against the ground.

Watching his pain and suffering, Neo's blessing nodded.

The blessing told Neo it was right for a Sinner—especially one who tormented the dead—to suffer.

'My mastery of Death is returning,' Neo noticed.

Impartiality

As if teaching him this was how he should behave, Neo's bloodline began to return his Death to him.

'Don't make me laugh.'

'This isn't my Death.'

'Impartial Death belongs to my Father.'

'It was never mine.'

'That was why you could take it back when I refused to follow your teachings.'

Neo's blessing realized something was wrong.

He ignored its confusion and crouched, staring into Jack's eyes.

"Should I kill you?"

"Yes. Do it. Kill me. Please. I beg—"

"Got it. But first…"

Neo canceled his Coffin of Darkness.

The wails of vengeful souls returned.

Jack shuddered. His breath hitched, and he curled, as if trying to hide.

Neo opened his palm and…

He began to devour the souls.

They tried to escape, but it was futile.

"Wh… what are you doing…?"

Jack raised his head and looked at Neo with wide eyes.

He suddenly broke into a sprint and pushed Neo down before he could devour more souls.

"Don't! Why are you taking my sins!?"

"Because you are my friend."

Neo's mastery of Death began to fall.

"Why does it matter?! If you devour these souls, you will be taking the negative karma I've accumulated! You—"

"It's fine."

His control over Death was disappearing.

Still, he spoke with a calm voice.

"The least I can do for a friend is make sure he doesn't get sent to Hell."

"…"

"I'll kill you. Because you want that."

"…"

"In exchange, let me do this."

"But…" Jack's voice cracked. "You will have to hold the weight of my sins. You will have to go to Hell in my place!"

"I'm Immortal. I won't be sent to Hell if I won't die."

Neo let out a small smile.

"This is wrong."

"It is."

"You will regret making a choice like this."

"I won't."

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