Chapter 314: New plan
"I wish I had done more," Aren said. He looked at the grave and stretched his hands, grabbing some sand from it. He brought it to his face, and through the mask, he looked at the sand.
"No, that’s not it, I’ll do more." He spoke in a tone that was filled with conviction. Then he rose to his feet, looking down at the grave. There was no sadness in his eyes anymore. Even when the flashes of her death rushed into his mind, he took it as a reminder to keep going and never stop, a reminder of what he had done and how he was meant to atone for it all.
"This world, this system, everything, it’s failed and useless. I’ll not allow it to take me. I’ll shatter everything. I’ll shatter every reality that they have created and ensure that I’m free at the end.
For me, for Aiden, Athena, Zero, and even you, Kira, because even in death, I know your soul yearns for freedom."
As he finished what he said, he turned around, and right there Geisha stood behind him. Because of the fact that he was not recovered, he was unable to sense when he had come with shadow sense.
"Seems you are awake," Geisha said.
"Aren’t you meant to be away?" Aren asked.
"Yes, but I had to return, because I had a feeling that you would want to leave the moment you wake up."
"Your feeling is true," Aren replied.
"Hmm, bold even now that your body is in a weak state," Geisha said.
"I don’t have time for all this talk. Thank you for saving me. You did a lot for me, but that aside, you and I will never clash on the same level of understanding. After all, you want to kill me and use my body."
"Hahaha, well, I guess that’s a pretty good reason to not be on leveled terms with anybody, but I can’t have your body yet, sadly. I need you to grow it to the peak.
I realized when you were unconscious that your power is greater than your body by a lot, and if I took your body now, all I’ll gain is a bit of your true potential, but the rest dies with your soul. So the best route is to ensure you reach that peak, your body and soul merge into one powerful being. That way I can take you and use you the way I want," Geisha made it clear.
Aren frowned. He looked Geisha right in the eyes and spoke. "And what makes you think that when I reach my peak, I’ll not be strong enough to kill you?" Aren asked.
"I already thought about that. You and I will have a soul contract now, forever binding until what needs to be done is done.
This contract will ensure that you get all the help you need from me for your revenge, but when it is all done, you will be mine to use," Geisha explained.
"You are joking, right?" Aren asked Geisha.
"I refuse to believe that’s the best you could come up with," Aren said, mocking Geisha.
"Hahahah," Geisha gave out a nervous laugh.
"Actually, I believed you would not agree to what I had to say, and that’s fine, but that being said, I’ll get the body one way or the other.
I want you to remember, I don’t need you to be at your peak. If I take you now, I’ll already be two times stronger, that’s what your current body can give me. So now imagine a peak version of you, that will make me at least ten stones stronger. I can definitely wait that long," Geisha said, but then his eyes turned cold.
"In the meantime." He stepped forward, and a massive presence rushed out of him like a typhoon, slamming into Aren as hard as it could.
"What was that power that you had unleashed that day? I’ve been so very curious to know what it is. I want to know how you were able to channel all that strength and exactly where all that strength came from."
Aren stepped back, but held his gaze with confidence as he looked at Geisha.
He had not thought much into the fact that he unleashed that unbelievable power a few days ago. He was still trying to clear his mind from what had happened, especially the death of Kira, and then he would focus on whatever came next.
"I don’t know," Aren replied, his voice sharp and clear.
Geisha frowned. He ran his hands through his hair, one eye locked onto Aren. It shined for a moment as he spoke in a menacing manner.
"It seems like you don’t understand how dire the situation that you have found yourself in is. You have very limited options, and you are only alive now because of the mercy that I have towards you.
I may not be able to kill you yet, but I sure as hell will remove the heads of your friends. Haha, I hope you did not believe that I allowed them to stay here out of the charity of my heart. No, I needed the right leverage, and they offered themselves to follow because of the way that they care for you."
Aren balled his fist tight. He looked at Geisha with a burning hate that was etched into his very soul now.
Geisha’s smile widened, having the grin of a madman. He leaned forward. "Does the truth make sense to you now? Do you understand what situation you are in?
You have no control here anymore. You have lost everything that made you in control, and now you exist in my world and under me. You ran for as long as your feet could carry you, but now all that strength is nowhere to be found," Geisha said that, and then he grabbed Aren by the collar, pulling him close and looking him right in the eyes.
"You are not as great as you think you are."
After saying that, he pushed Aren away and then walked off. Aren stood there, watching Geisha walk away, his fist tightly balled. His rage kept growing and growing until for a moment his rage shifted into tears and then flowed down his face.
Powerless, that was how Aren felt. He kept churning his mind for a way out of this, but no matter how much he tried to find a way, he couldn’t.
"Is this the end? Am I finally backed so hard against a wall that there is no way out for me?" He collapsed to his knees and buried his head into his arms on the ground, tears streaming down and pouring from the side of his mask.
"I’m pathetic, weak, all I do is hurt and hurt and cause more pain. Who the hell did I think I was? What the hell did I think I would do? Now I’m here, and I’ve lost it all. There is no way out for me, just a dead end that I’ve brought upon me and my friends.
Screw this, screw this, screw this!" Aren kept muttering in anger and swinging his hands down hard until it started bleeding, and then suddenly, like a miracle, the system came online.
[Reward for level up, new skill gained, Summoner’s Merge]
Aren looked up. He saw what was written in the system. The name of the skill pulled his attention immediately, and he clicked to know more.
[Summoner’s Merge: this skill allows the user to merge with one shadow, allowing their strength to stack for the duration of one day, cooldown, 2 days]
Aren froze. He looked at the skill that he had gained, and for some reason, this skill seemed like a savior, as right at that moment, Aren gained an idea that might change the course of everything.
"It’s not over," he said, eyes burning with conviction as now he stood a chance to change things if he did it well.
He leaned back against the tree, and in the next moment, he decided to use shadow merge. He could use three in a row now, which meant he had to ensure that he made the very right choice, and he already had a plan for what to do.
"System, merge the Giant and the fallen angel," Aren recalled his angel summon, the one that he had fought back when he saved Lucy, and he believed merging two divine beings would change the game entirely.
He was right, as the next moment, he received the final summon.
[You have gained the Angel of Jotnar]
The combination of both had worked perfectly, and that’s what he wanted. He wasted no time moving to the next.
He merged Ironclaw right with the Angel of Jotnar. He was yet to even see what the Angel of Jotnar looked like, but he didn’t care. Right now, he wanted to get all the merging in, as he had one more to go and the plan would be in full play.