Chapter 214: The Choice Is Yours
"..."
Lying on her bed, Anastasia stared at the ceiling thoughtfully.
She was still thinking about her conversation with Dante, which left her with many questions.
’Can just accepting an idea make me survive and force two clashing bloodlines to fuse? Is accepting a mere idea mentally enough to do something like that?’
The idea sounded strange to her. The bloodlines were... bloodlines. Why would a change in mindset do something like that?
Charis suddenly appeared and shook her head: "No, it’s impossible... at least the fusion part."
Anastasia’s eyes widened horrifyingly, but before she could say anything, Charis explained: "Unlike the other bloodlines, the angelic and demonic bloodlines are the only ones that affect a person emotionally and mentally. They are based on ideologies like wrath, sloth, charity, and so on."
"Accepting the ideology of that bloodline is indeed able to have an effect. For a demon, they’d have more resistance to corruption and more self-control. For an angel, they’d have purer holy energy and faster awakening."
"But accepting an ideology isn’t simple. You mustn’t be forced to accept it, and you must act according to it under any condition. That’s why I’m always telling you to act like a true angel of charity!"
"Your fast awakening is a result of your kindness and love toward others. Until now, you have worked very well."
Anastasia hesitated for a moment before asking: ’So... if I accept a part of sloth... would the conflict between the bloodlines weaken?’
Charis sighed: "It’s possible. That will weaken your identity as an angel and slow your awakening, but the conflict might decrease slightly. However, that wouldn’t solve the problem. If that conflict is going to make you die, you’d be only slowing the inevitable while ignoring your nature!"
Anastasia sighed and covered her face: ’But... I might find a way to solve this problem if I get more time. Also, if a change in mindset can have such an effect, why is fusion impossible? Can’t I accept both bloodlines equally and make them fuse?’
Charis stared at her with a furious expression: "Ana... do you really want to accept a demonic bloodline? Do you want to become a sinner? Do you want to end up like all those abyssal beings that don’t care about the concept of morality?"
’No! I...’ Anastasia bit her lower lip: ’I am asking... hypothetically. If they fuse... maybe I won’t be a full angel anymore, but I won’t be a demon either! It might be a new bloodline!’
Charis shook her head: "That doesn’t make it any better. A part of you would become a sin! You lived for over 20 years, becoming a perfect candidate for becoming the next Virtue of Charity. Are a few months of living with a demonic bloodline really enough to make you discard everything you have done in the past?"
"Are you discarding your true nature, your childhood and education, your memories, your kingdom, your race, your family, and your identity—just to survive for some time in the hope that you find a way to live?"
"Did you forget that you are in prison? What is decreasing the conflict going to do? If there is a way to solve this problem, you would have to leave this place first. But unless your father himself finds out about this prison and helps you escape, there is no way you are going to do anything."
’So you want me to just accept that and lose hope?!’ Anastasia yelled at Charis, her eyes becoming blurry.
’That bloodline is a part of me now. The sin we both hate so much is flowing through my veins! What am I supposed to do? Why should I accept my death like that if I can delay it simply by changing my mindset?!’
’Instead of accepting the demonic bloodline, I’m trying to think of a way to accept only a small part of it! Do you think I’d have thought about such a thing if I had a choice?! Charis, if you have a way to remove the bloodline from my body while I’m inside this prison, then just say it instead of burying my hope! Can’t I make my own choices now?!’
Anastasia gritted her teeth until cracks spread across them.
She was furious.
She was kidnapped and tortured for months because of something that she didn’t have. She didn’t choose to be the daughter of a king who prioritized his kingdom over his family.
She was forced to have a bloodline that was killing her slowly. She didn’t choose to put herself in that danger.
She was forced to stay in this prison. She didn’t choose to be here.
Even Charis...
’I didn’t even choose to have you!’
Anastasia recalled her memories as she roared inwardly: ’You just appeared when I found that relic. I always listened to you and treated you as my master, but you never gave me the choice to do anything!’ ’I listened to you and hid my class, my talents, my abilities, the purity of my bloodline, and even your existence. Not only from the angels, but even my family!’
’Wouldn’t the angels have saved me by now if it weren’t for you? Couldn’t my father have told the angels about you to make them join the war? Couldn’t I have used your existence to threaten Valor? Whose fault was that, huh?!’
"No... maybe it was my fault for listening to you! It’s all my fault..."
"..."
Charis listened to the kid she had seen growing for years yelling at her inwardly while covering her teary eye with her arm.
"I... I didn’t know that would happen..." Charis muttered: "I don’t know if the angels we see now are the same angels from my era. I don’t know how I died. There is a possibility that I was betrayed."
"Regarding everything else... Didn’t you see your parents? Their talents are the reason why they were forced to marry just to produce more talented children. And your father, as a Crowned Existence, had to carry a whole kingdom over his shoulder against his will."
"Neither of them has a choice now because they chose to reveal their potential in the past."
"Hiding your potential until you become strong enough to make your own choices was the most logical decision. Your father himself knew this and hid your eyes, didn’t he?"
Anastasia stopped wiping her tears at the mention of her eyes.
Charis continued calmly: "I admit... I failed to protect you. I failed to make the right decisions for you. I failed to predict that you’d be kidnapped. I failed miserably in everything... it’s not your fault, Ana. You should blame me for this."
Sighing deeply, Charis decided to respond to the question she had avoided: "Even the people with two bloodlines can’t fuse them. The bloodlines clash together only if you have one heavenly bloodline and the other abyssal. But even if both bloodlines are from the same type, they coexist together rather than fuse. If they clash, you simply die or become a monster. The stronger the conflict between the bloodlines, the worse the outcome."
"Fusing two bloodlines, whether they are clashing or not, is impossible."
As Anastasia’s eyes darkened in sadness, Charis added: "...there was only one person who was able to make a heavenly bloodline and an abyssal bloodline fuse together. Actually... he created a bloodline that takes advantage of the clashing to force a fusion. He became the one and only person with a hybrid nature."
"But even he couldn’t find a way to make an angelic bloodline fuse with a demonic one... probably."
Charis’ eyes softened, then she patted Anastasia’s head. She couldn’t truly touch her, but she could give her an Illusionist feeling of the touch.
"Fusion was done once. We all thought it was impossible, yet he did it. Maybe you can achieve a similar feat..."
"Whether you try to do it or not is your choice. Just remember, whether you succeed or not... you won’t be a true angel of charity anymore."
"The choice is yours."