Pov: Lina
I still remember him carrying me in his arms when I said I wanted to visit the garden or any other place. Slowly, I regained consciousness. Someone was carrying me again, and I mistakenly thought he was my father.
After that, I felt sleepy again, but soon I woke up completely. I found myself in a manor, sleeping on a sofa. In front of me was the same white-haired man who had given me money to contact my family.
Pov: Vik
Right now, I'm sitting in a chair in my manor in the city while Lina sleeps on the sofa. Since the system advised me not to wake her, I let her rest. It's been two hours since I found her; now it's already evening, and she hasn't woken up. I'm seriously thinking about waking her up.
As I was considering this, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at me. When she woke up, I smiled and said, "You're finally awake."
But she didn't respond; instead, she focused on the ceiling and stared at it, lost in thought. Her vacant eyes seemed to wander aimlessly. She gave me the same look I saw in Lu Xiaoran's eyes when I first met him.
Sigh. I don't know why I keep getting involved with people like this, but looking at this girl makes me think she might not be the villain the system claims she is. She appears to be a victim. So, I checked with the system again.
Vik: "System, are you sure she's a villain in this story?"
System: "Host, I'm sure. She has negative luck, and only people who go against a protagonist or the chosen one have such luck."
With the system's confirmation, I looked at Lina again. This world really is messed up. How can someone like Lu Xiaoran and Lina be considered villains? They are just teenagers. Even if they bullied someone in school or an academy, it doesn't mean they deserve such harsh punishments. This is the worst.
System: "Host, even after being reborn as a snake, you have not realized the reality of this world. I understand that most of your time has been spent sleeping in that forest while you cultivated to the Void Refining realm relying on your unusual understanding."
"But, host, you have to accept that this is not your old world. Even in your previous world, people used their power for selfish desires. Now, think about this world where power resides in physical strength, not money or authority. What stops people from using it for their own motives?"
"Host, the path of cultivation goes against the laws of the heavens and the world. What does every cultivator desire the most? Immortality. The most dedicated cultivators might not hesitate to massacre an entire city if it helps them improve even a little."
"The same logic holds for their arrogance; people get killed for merely looking at them. You can only save yourself if you have strength. As for the chosen ones, they tend to be more arrogant than any other cultivator. Even if someone laughed at the protagonist when he was a child or bullied him, he will remember that and seek revenge no matter how reasonable you try to be. Everything the chosen one does will be seen as right because of their luck; the world identifies them as saviors, and everything they do is seen as justified."
Getting lectured by the system about the world's norms annoyed me, not with the system, but with this world. It's not like my previous world was perfect, but at least we discussed concepts like might is right. Here, they don't even try to do that.
Sighing again, I looked at Lina, who was still staring at the ceiling with empty eyes. I decided to try to help her, so I said, "Nothing will change if you keep looking at the ceiling."
She didn't reply, so I continued, "Lina, I can't imagine the trauma you're going through, nor can I erase it. But I can offer you something else: hope. Hope is a strange thing; it makes people act irrationally. It has led people to their deaths in pursuit of impossible goals. But at least they die knowing that they tried, unlike you, who is just staring at the ceiling."
My words had an effect. She finally showed some expression and looked at me, though her eyes still seemed hollow. At least I piqued her interest.
Now, looking at me, she asked, "I'm confused. I don't know why this is happening to me. Why me? I don't even have clear memories of my past. Can you help me?"
Hearing her question, I said, "Yes, I can help you."
She finally showed a look of hope and said, "Then please, help me make this pain in my head go away. I'm suffering from it; please make this pain go and give me my memories back."
To her request, I replied, "No, I can't make this pain go. No one can."
Upon hearing my answer, her expression turned hollow again. She said, "Then how can you help? Please, let this pain go. If you can't, then please kill me. I don't want to suffer anymore; at least death might end this pain."
Vik: "No, death won't make your pain disappear along with you. It won't relieve your suffering. The questions you have will remain unanswered. The justice you seek won't be served, and the loved ones you try to remember will always be forgotten along with your existence. Tell me, do you want that?"
This time she cried as my words hit home. Looking at me with tears in her eyes, she said, "Please! Help me, please!"
Watching her, I didn't see a villain or a bad person; I saw a little girl lost in the illusion of happiness, hit by reality, struggling to accept it. I felt sorry for her. With seriousness in my eyes, I said, "As I said, no one can help relieve your pain. Only you can do that. And I will make you capable of it."
"Become my disciple, and as your teacher, I will ensure you get your answers, justice, and your memories of loved ones back. Even if fate and this whole world try to stop you, I will make you strong enough to defy them."
After hearing my speech and seeing my serious expression, she stopped crying and said, "I'm willing. I want to be your disciple."