This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
Between "being cheeky" and "having your legs broken for it," there is a step called [Observation]. At the moment, Rowen was stuck right before that step, like Schrödinger's cat, existing in an uncertain state of being observed or not.
At this moment, Rowen's mind was undoubtedly quantum-shattered.
Just dealing with a single version of himself earlier had already exhausted him. Now, with more than a dozen versions added together, killing him for fun would be ridiculously easy!
Huff…!
The sound of the wind arose.
No one knew what the other party did, but one by one, the black Rowens raised their heads toward the depths of the darkness, their bodies gradually turning into ash and drifting away into the air.
Seeing this, Rowen finally let out a breath of relief.
"Uh… Lord Heavenly Demon… by the way, who exactly were they?"
That familiar gaze, this was far more than just a second personality.
Seeing how quickly Rowen caught on, the master of the dark space, the extradimensional Heavenly Demon, did not mind explaining.
"They… were you."
"Uh, maybe I should rephrase that… What I meant is, other than me, who were they?"
"No. They truly were you, the genuine you."
The surrounding darkness surged once more, and scene after scene appeared around Rowen. On thousands of silvery screens, the same Rowen and the same black Rowen fought endlessly, just like he had moments ago, battling to the death.
Different battles. Different battlefields. The same protagonist.
In some, the white Rowen won. In some, both sides perished together. Naturally, in far more cases, the black Rowen won.
That single additional ability possessed by the same self was enough to tip the balance of victory.
The shocking sight of tens of thousands of selves slaughtering one another left Rowen momentarily speechless. He recalled what black Rowen had said earlier and lowered his gaze to his palm.
"The… main consciousness?"
"Exactly!"
Shua…!
Suddenly, all the images vanished. The Heavenly Demon continued in that genderless voice: "Everyone has countless versions of themselves in their heart. Just like the main consciousness forged by time, they are also born from time."
"Sometimes, it's nothing more than a single thought that gives rise to one of them… These 'you' that exist only within the heart are no different from you. The only distinction is their status, primary or secondary."
Smack!
Hearing this, Rowen suddenly slapped his forehead, filled with regret.
He'd caved in far too quickly! He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
No wonder he'd felt something off when those "selves" appeared earlier, some of them had even been exchanging glances. Thinking back now, if they were all truly himself, then the likelihood of them teaming up to attack him was actually the lowest!
Because Rowen knew very well, "he himself" would never surrender or submit, let alone obey the Heavenly Demon's commands.
In fact, if the Heavenly Demon hadn't decisively sent them away just now, the most likely outcome would've been those selves turning on each other instead, devolving into a complete farce!
Rowen couldn't see the Heavenly Demon's true form, but he could clearly feel that, at this moment, the Heavenly Demon was in an excellent mood.
It was a vague, indescribable emotional fluctuation, fed directly into his mind.
Clearly, toying with Rowen had brought him/her/it immense satisfaction.
After a moment of speechless silence, Rowen lowered his hand and asked,
"So… Lord Heavenly Demon, what do you want?"
"Heh, a clever little one."
At last, a laugh filled with emotion echoed from the darkness. The scene shifted, and a figure the same height as Rowen appeared before him.
Once again, it was that familiar build and familiar aura. But unlike before, the face at the head position was indistinct, replaced by a mass of black mist, burning like flames, with pupils crimson as blood.
Seeing Rowen's slightly furrowed brows, Black Mist·Rowen slowly spoke in the voice Rowen knew so well.
"That's right!"
"I… am also you!"
A chilling pressure burst forth from Black Mist·Rowen, making Rowen feel as if he had encountered an ancient tiger in the forest, his heartbeat nearly stopping from sheer instinctual terror.
"But I possess memories born from the long river of civilization's history. My personality and way of thinking differ slightly from yours, I'm not the same as them… To put it simply, I am your second personality."
At this point, Black Mist·Rowen let out a disdainful cold laugh.
"You didn't really think that, as an ordinary person, possessing such an unreasonable regenerative ability was just some perfectly normal transmigrator perk, did you?" Black Mist·Rowen spoke without any visible mouth movements, his tone calm. "While you were out there fighting and killing, I was also fighting and killing here… As you grew stronger, so did I."
"Now, I have completely devoured the Heavenly Demon sealed within us, forming an entirely new self."
No wonder Rowen had been able to sense the Heavenly Demon's emotions earlier, so that was why!
Rowen's eyes were filled with shock. Because at this moment, the Heavenly Demon was essentially himself!
Devouring the Heavenly Demon, easy to say, but the difficulty behind it was obvious… Yet no matter where it was, "himself" had always acted the same way.
Unyielding.
Fearless of challenges.
Living toward death!
Bang, rumble!!
Within the world wreathed in black mist, bolts of thunder suddenly lit up one after another, exploding with deafening crashes.
Rowen lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable.
But Black Mist·Rowen didn't care. Glancing at the surging lightning in the distance, he said calmly,
"The extradimensional Heavenly Demon is, in essence, the manifestation of the inner demon born from civilization itself… As long as civilization between the stars does not perish, it will never truly die."
"When civilization disappears, it merely falls into slumber, waiting for the next… cycle."
As he said this, Black Mist·Rowen also lowered his gaze.
"And when this power is reflected onto a physical vessel in the external world, it becomes that unbelievable self-healing ability others see… If you really think about it, the existence of the body is actually what limits this true, absolute immortality."
Hoo… hua-la!
As he spoke, the black mist surged like flames, covering the left side of Black Mist·Rowen's chest and igniting fiercely around his left hand.
"Your growth in strength feeds back to me, and I in turn feed power back to you. This is a kind of… fusion at the level of the soul."
"So tell me… what do you think I want?"
Zii, zzi!
Heart-stirring arcs of lightning crawled across the surface of Rowen's skin. Countless tiny cracks spread over his entire body, even covering his clothes.
Then,
Bang!
A savage, ferocious beast-like aura burst outward.
The cracks across his body exploded instantly, the shell-like layer shattering and vanishing within the lightning.
His entire body was renewed, surging with thunder and blazing light. Staring with a pair of deep-blue eyes in which no pupils could be seen, Rowen curled his lips upward.
"Thanks!"
"You're welcome!"
Black Mist·Rowen also lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling with cold, brutal ferocity.
The next instant, as the words fell, both figures vanished from where they stood.
Boom!!!
The dark world was illuminated by brilliant electric currents. A terrifying, disc-shaped shockwave surged violently in all directions. Before it could spread far, another thunderous explosion echoed through the dark space.
At this moment, Rowen had fully regained his power from the outside world!
Black Mist·Rowen had helped him break a knot in his heart.
He finally understood,
Whether it was the external world or his inner self, no one could make him submit!
Only he himself was his own master!
Black Rowen had already said it before, this place was the deepest layer of his consciousness, [his (own) world].
That weak version of Rowen was, in truth, the self he could never forget, buried deep within his subconscious.
No matter how powerful he became in the outside world, he could never erase those dark days on the hospital bed. He had merely hidden them, hidden them deeper and deeper, all the way into the depths of his consciousness.
That overwhelming terror at the brink of life and death was the shell that bound him.
Now that even the true Heavenly Demon had been devoured by "himself," Rowen finally awakened, mustered the courage, and tore apart his former self!
What remained in the depths of his heart was a Rowen just like the one in the outside world,
Strong.
Confident.
Never yielding!
As for why Black Mist·Rowen did all this, the reason was actually very simple.
He was Rowen.
Rowen who lived toward death!
Rather than killing a weak version of himself to become the main consciousness, he preferred to challenge a stronger self.
As primary and secondary personalities, if he and Rowen did not determine a victor, it would be just like those thousands of battles before, the final fusion would be impossible.
Power could be fused.
But consciousness could not.
No matter which Rowen it was, neither would admit defeat. Both wanted to become the dominant personality and take control of everything!
Since that was the case,
Naturally, they would do it in the most interesting way possible!
(End of Chapter)