The full, horrifying truth of his Aspect Legacy—that he was a reincarnated soul, the Deputy of Heaven, destined to have his current self erased—struck Kane with the force of a cosmic sledgehammer. He wasn't just facing death; he was facing an obliteration of his very identity, the annihilation of every memory, every struggle, and every choice that made him Kane. The idea of losing himself, becoming someone else's past self—whatever kind of hell that entity might be—ignited a deep, primal terror.
He started to feel himself slip, a profound panic attack seizing his mind. He instinctively remembered his life, every harsh moment from his birth in the slums of the NQSC to the endless fight for survival in the Nightmare, and the fear of losing that hard-won identity was overwhelming. His vision tunneled, his breathing hitched, and the silence of the room twisted into a high-pitched, mocking scream.
Linia, who had been watching him intently, immediately saw the visible signs of his internal rupture. She reacted not with fear, but with an unexpected surge of protective instinct. This level of raw, unraveling panic was something she rarely saw, and it confirmed the chilling severity of whatever he had learned.
She moved quickly, going to him and pulling his rigid body close. As his head fell onto her shoulder, she began to sing the tranquil poem again, her voice a steady, hypnotic counterpoint to the storm raging inside him.
Slowly, agonizingly, the panic receded. Kane's mind calmed, pulling back from the precipice of lucidity. He looked up at her, his eyes moist with unshed tears, betraying a profound vulnerability he had never shown another living person. Without understanding why, he felt an overwhelming need for connection, a desperate anchor in a world dissolving into predetermined fate. He hugged her tightly, fiercely, clinging to the only piece of genuine warmth he had felt since entering this cursed land.
After a long moment, he released her.
"Kane, what happened?" Linia asked, her face etched with genuine worry. "Did you figure out your dream?"
He looked at her, the terrible words of the Aspect Legacy burning on his tongue. He wanted desperately to tell her, to share the crushing burden, but the fear was immediate and paralyzing. The memory of Nephis's betrayal—the cold, calculated manipulation by the person he had saved and risked everything for—was a festering wound. He wasn't ready for another. He couldn't risk the one tentative anchor he had just found.
He let his face fall, his voice heavy with defeat. "Sorry, I can't tell you right now."
He then summoned Missy from his Soul Sea. She materialized, her ethereal face contorted with sadness, having sensed the torrent of despair in his core.
"Missy, stay with her for a while," Kane instructed, his voice flat. "I... will look outside."
He didn't wait for a response. He walked out of the room, leaving the fragile sanctuary behind. The moment the heavy wooden door shut, he walked some distance down the vast, empty corridor, then immediately slumped against the cold stone wall. His eyes, devoid of their usual fierce control, were filled with the sheer terror of losing himself. He desperately wanted to share his pain, to confess the cosmic horror of his fate, but the deep-seated inability to trust paralyzed him. The visible death of his parents, the unforgiving outskirts, the agonizing betrayal by Nephis—all of it had cemented a solitary, defensive reflex.
He looked up at the gothic ceiling, its red-lined patterns mocking his confusion. "Mom... Dad...," he whispered into the silence. "What should I do?"
Inside the room, the silence was heavy, broken only by Missy's faint, anxious shimmer.
Missy looked toward the closed exit door, then turned to Linia, whose face was clouded with sadness and hurt. Missy's own features, marked by the grotesque stitches across her mouth, only amplified her sorrowful expression.
"Linia... Give him some space," Missy urged, her voice soft. "He's going through a lot, and he never catches a break."
Linia looked at the Echo. "I helped him. Shouldn't he tell me what his problem is? At least, shouldn't I deserve to know?"
Missy met her gaze, the truth blunt and painful. "He's afraid that he will lose you too."
Linia absorbed the impact of that statement. She looked down at her hands, the weight of his fear and the reality of his trauma settling over her. "Maybe," she whispered, "maybe I should also be transparent about myself."
Kane, desperately trying to distract himself from the terrifying revelation of his true Aspect Legacy, walked through the labyrinthine corridors of the cathedral. The interiors were imposing, pure gothic style, with heavy velvet curtains and iron lanterns casting long, dancing shadows. He passed a few other occupants—people who introduced themselves with mundane names like Joshua, Linda, Freya, and Samara—all wearing the same look of detached, weary acceptance.
He visited all the major halls: the cavernous dining area, the dank storage cellar, and the crude, makeshift training grounds. He was deliberately focusing on the external, the material, anything to keep his mind from circling back to the Essence of the Past.
He ended up in the dining hall and saw Clarice sitting alone at a long table. She was wearing a simple white tunic, her dark brunette hair contrasting sharply with the pallid light. She looked up, offered him a bright, forced smile, and waved. Kane nodded stiffly and went to sit opposite her.
"So, how is the place treating you?" Clarice asked, her voice light.
Kane forced a practiced smile. "Yeah, it is comfortable."
Clarice returned the smile, but her eyes held a spark of suspicion. "So, how did it happen?"
Kane frowned. "How what happen?"
Clarice leaned forward, her smile conspiratorial. "How did you lovebirds meet? It's rare to see a pair so close in a place like this."
Kane was genuinely shocked. "No, we are not in love, we are just friends."
Clarice chuckled softly. "Oh, I see. My bad." But the smirk on her face clearly conveyed that she didn't believe him for a second.
Kane, deciding to leverage the conversation, changed the subject to something more critical. "This place... what exactly makes it dangerous?"
Clarice's smile vanished instantly, her demeanor turning grim and cold. The casual facade was gone. "There is a particular type of creature," she spoke, her voice dropping. "It is a parasite."
Kane's eyes widened. "A parasite?" The thought immediately conjured images of the terrifying, mind-bending influence of the Demoness.
"Yeah," Clarice confirmed, her voice now a low whisper. "A huge, snake-like parasite which lays eggs that latch onto our souls. It uses us like a carrier to spread itself."
Kane was horrified. A soul parasite—a threat far more insidious than a physical monster. "So, what is the countermeasure for this?"
"Actually, we can find its behavior easily; it will exhibit differently," Clarice explained. "And, more importantly, they are extremely vulnerable to protoic fruits."
"Protoic fruits?" Kane pressed.
Clarice nodded, pointing vaguely outside. "The diamond fruits which are hanging on the trees outside. They are poisonous to the parasites."
Kane absorbed the information, his mind cataloging the threat. After a few more polite exchanges, he felt his presence at the table was distracting him from the internal battle he needed to win. He left the table, planning to go back to his room and face his aspect legacy
As Kane was climbing the massive, cold stone staircase, he felt a sudden, profound, and utterly sickening warning—a chilling premonition of danger, similar to the one that had alerted him before the Demoness's ambush. He froze, his head whipping sideways toward the source of the feeling.
Coiling around a massive iron chandelier hanging from the cathedral's lofty ceiling was a grotesque, shimmering sight. It was a snake-like creature, its scales the color of tarnished brass, its enormous body coiling and twisting in the shadowed arches. Its tails were disturbingly feathery, but the worst part was the head: a pale, elongated face that bore a sickening resemblance to a human female, complete with vacant, luminous eyes. It was watching him.
Kane stared up at the horrifying abomination.
"Seriously," he muttered, the universe once again mocking his attempt at finding a moment of peace. The battle for his soul, and now the battle for this new hell, had officially begun.
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Here are the few Webnovel stories I might start (not Immediately,But surely I will)
1.Shadow Slave: Lumian Lee
Spoilers for the Domain war:
Lumian Lee and Aurora Lee,who was awakened who was in Valor Clan,When lord of shadows and Song of the fallen Siezed the domain from the Soveriegn,Unfortunate things befalled on them,What happened?Lumian must forge his own path from his own blood and conflicts
2.LOTM:New Greater Old One
Morpheus,the transmigrated into the world of lord of the mysteries,is forced to take the most crazy pathway switches that makes even alista Tudor see sane
3.LOTM:I am king Grey
The original MC of Tbate,King Grey/Arthur Leywin,when he died,what will happen he transmigrated into Loen Kingdom instead of Dicathen?
4.Shadow Slave: I am Azik Eggers
A transmigrator who landed on Shadow slave named himself Azik Eggers,unknowingly followed a fixed fate.