Chapter 72: The Consequences of a Choice

Chris shook his head with a smile and didn’t say anything else. He just closed his eyes to rest.

A few hours later, Lilith stood up to wipe his body again before lying back down. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty bad, honestly." He chuckled.

He had a high fever and was getting weaker by the moment. The wound still wasn’t closing at all, and he found it difficult to even speak.

"I think I’m going to die if I stay like this." He suddenly said.

"WHAT!?" She instantly sat up straight.

"Ugh." He grumbled due to the sudden pain.

"Sorry! Sorry!" She flinched.

"It’s nothing."

"W-what did you say? Are you sure?" Her expression grew increasingly worried.

"I’m sure. I’m growing weaker by the minute. I’m not sure how much longer I can last like this."

"Is there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

"I don’t think so." He shook his head. "You should think about yourself and try to find a way to exit the dungeon."

"What are you saying? Are you giving up so easily? That doesn’t sound like you at all!" She yelled back.

"Giving up? No way. I will never give up." He shook his head. "But that doesn’t mean I’m delusional. There is a chance that I’ll live, but it’s very slim. I’m just informing you."

She stayed silent.

’*There is a way, and you know it.*’ An enchanting voice rang in her head.

’...’

’*You should do it. He is the best possible candidate.*’

’...’

’*Or are you just going to watch him die?*’

’I don’t know if I can trust you.’

’*Even if you don’t, that’s the only chance you have to keep him alive. Give it a try.*’

’I’m not sure... I barely know him...’

’*You know him enough to understand what kind of a man he is.*’

’...And what if it doesn’t work?’

’*If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. At least you tried.*’

Lilith contemplated for a moment before a determined expression appeared on her face.

Suddenly, she lowered her body and cupped both sides of Chris’s face with her hands.

Feeling a sudden warm touch on his cheeks, Chris was about to ask what she was doing, but in the next moment, he felt a warm sensation on his lips.

’What in the world?’ She was kissing him in that kind of situation.

He felt her grabbing his lower jaw and pulling it down, forcing his mouth open.

In the next moment, he felt her tongue invade his mouth forcefully.

’Is this woman out of her mind!?’ He wanted to open his eyes, but he was too weak to do anything.

Suddenly, however, he felt a warm liquid pour into his mouth, filling it completely.

’!!?’ He was startled. At first, he thought it was her saliva, but he instantly realized that it couldn’t be. There was too much.

The liquid felt sweet on his tongue, but he didn’t know what it was.

He wanted to spit it out, but Lilith held his mouth tightly against hers, not letting him. He had no choice but to gulp it down.

*Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!*

Once it was done, she separated from his mouth and took a deep breath, her face completely flushed.

In the next moment, however, she saw his body starting to twitch and spasm violently. His chest was rising and falling unnaturally, and a grimace appeared on his face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!" A piercing scream escaped his mouth.

’WHAT IS HAPPENING!? YOU DIDN’T TELL ME IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS!?’ She yelled inside her head as she looked at Chris worriedly.

’*Your demonic power is fighting with his other power—Gwenor. It’s expected to be like this.*’

’You mean to say you expected this outcome!? Is this dangerous!? Will he die from this!?’

’*Possibly. I don’t know myself.*’

’BUT YOU SAID THIS WOULD WORK!’

’*No. I said this is the only chance you have. Now, everything is up to him.*’

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Suddenly, another piercing scream sounded behind her, startling her.

Turning around, she saw Aura in her fox form looking at her with hostility. At some point, she had exited the pouch.

"I am trying to save his life."

"Do you even realize what you’ve done!? I knew nothing good would come out of him staying close to you, and now it’s been confirmed!"

"This is the only chance I had!" Lilith yelled back at her while still looking worriedly at Chris, whose whole body was spasming violently.

"The only chance you had!? And who are you to decide that? Did you even ask him if he wanted to be saved like this!? Not to mention that the chance of it working is almost nonexistent!" Aura yelled back angrily.

"I..." Lilith looked down in sorrow. "I had no other choice. I don’t want him to die."

Aura stared at her for a moment. "If he survives this, I will let him decide what to do with you. But if it doesn’t work out... I will kill you myself, be sure of that." She said angrily as she turned into a streak of light, returning to the pouch.

Lilith didn’t even process her words. She was too occupied watching Chris, looking for any change.

...

Chris was standing in a dark space. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but darkness.

Bringing his hand directly in front of his eyes, he couldn’t even see it.

"What in the world is happening?" He started to think.

The only thing he remembered was that Lilith had suddenly kissed him and forced him to drink some strange liquid.

Moments after that, he had felt a warmth in his chest as his Gwenor activated on its own and seemed to clash with the liquid he had drunk.

The two powers clashed violently, causing enormous pain throughout his whole body.

He had never felt such intense pain in his life. It was as though every cell in his body was being violently torn apart.

He didn’t even have time to process the situation before losing consciousness.

Moments later, he opened his eyes, only to find himself in a completely dark space.

He spread his hands, trying to feel something, possibly touch something, but there didn’t seem to be anything around.

Taking a step, he walked in a straight line for a while, or at least he felt like he was walking. But no matter how much he walked, nothing changed, and he couldn’t touch or feel anything.

Minutes passed, then hours. Maybe even days.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, nor could he feel it at all. It was as though time itself didn’t exist in the place he found himself in.

"Am I actually dead?" He asked himself out loud.

"You’re not dead... Yet." Suddenly, a voice was heard. It sounded very familiar.

He couldn’t pinpoint the location of the voice, but he instantly knew who it was.

He had heard the same voice before, exactly when he was trying to rescue Aelia from the strange ruins.

In his dream, he had heard the same voice and seen a silhouette of a man who had helped him wake up.

"Where are you?" He asked while trying to look around again, but yet again, he couldn’t see anything.

"I’m here." Suddenly, a sun mark on his forehead shone before a glowing silhouette of a man appeared in front of him.

The silhouette looked exactly as he remembered. Without any distinct features, it could only be recognized as a man by its outline and voice.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"That’s a question with a very complicated answer, so I won’t answer it for now. What you need to think about now is what choice you will make." The figure answered.

"A choice? What choice?"

"A choice between being a demon, being a human, or being something... unknown."

"What kind of a choice is that?" Chris couldn’t understand. "Of course I want to be a human."

The figure appeared to shake its head. "First, listen to the consequences."

"There are consequences? What kind?"

"As you have probably already guessed, that girl tried to infuse you with her demonic energy. That would transform you into a demon while keeping you alive."

Chris nodded. "I already guessed that."

"But your Gwenor is not allowing it. You see, Gwenor was created to be the complete opposite of demonic energy. Those two energies clashed, creating this outcome."

He nodded again. "I guessed that much as well. But how is my Gwenor unable to eradicate this demonic energy?"

"The demonic energy that entered you is a bit special. It’s much purer than normal, and your strength is too weak for Gwenor to eradicate it. Right now, both powers inside you are equally matched. But..." The figure’s voice became more serious. "Your body is severely damaged by now. Your life is hanging by a thread."

"Why are you telling me everything I already know? Spit it out already! How am I alive, and what are the consequences of making a choice?"

"You are alive because of this." The figure suddenly waved its hand, and the place around them became illuminated with light.

Looking right behind the figure, Chris could see a golden globe hovering in the air.

The globe looked unlike anything he had ever seen. It was intricately carved with runes that he couldn’t read.

White light pulsed around it as it moved along the runes.

Chris immediately knew what the white light was. It was Gwenor.

"This orb is something like an artifact inside you. It is also the reason why you can use Gwenor."

"I have an artifact inside me!?" Chris was stunned. "What is it?"

The figure shook its head. "That is something you’ll need to find out yourself. Just know that this artifact is what’s keeping you alive, for now."

"Sigh... People these days. Nobody wants to tell me anything." Chris shook his head. "Okay, what are the consequences of my choice?" He decided to ask what mattered most for now.

"If you choose to remain human, you will be granted a chance at life, but you will be heavily influenced by Gwenor as a consequence."

"What does that mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"It basically means that you will become a selfless hero whose purpose in life is to fight demons. Gwenor will influence your mind so much that eradicating demons will become the only thing on your mind."

Chris shuddered at the thought. Wouldn’t he become something like a puppet, then?

"And the other choice?"

"If you choose to become a demon, you will lose Gwenor and become a true demon. The demonic energy will influence your mind even more than it does acolytes. You will basically become evil."

"What are these choices, even? Wouldn’t it be better to just die in that case? If I become something like a puppet with either choice, I would rather not make a choice at all." Chris laughed mockingly as he shook his head.

"That brings us to your third choice." The figure continued.

"To become something unknown? What does that even mean?"

"I honestly don’t know." The figure shook its head.

"What? You don’t know?"

"I know that if you make that choice, the demonic energy will mix with Gwenor, creating something else. I’m not sure of the consequences of that, and I don’t know if you would even stay alive. The most likely outcome will be your death." The figure shook its head again. "However, there is still a chance it will work."

"Hahahahahaha... So basically, I have a choice between becoming a puppet, becoming a puppet again but an evil one, or most likely dying?" Chris laughed at the situation.

"You can interpret it however you like." The figure nodded.

"There is no need to even think about it. I will never accept becoming a puppet or being even slightly influenced by something." Chris shook his head. "I choose the third option. And if I die, at least I will have died by my own choice."

The figure was silent for a moment before it nodded. "Here." He tossed a glowing black orb towards Chris, and he caught it.

"Is this... the demonic energy?"

"Yes." With that, the figure disappeared in a streak of light before flying into Chris’s forehead.

"Hey, hey! What do I do with this?" He yelled out, but after waiting for a moment, no response came.

"Sigh..." He looked at the orb in his hand and examined it.

"I see no other option." He shook his head before approaching the golden globe in front of him.

"So I had an artifact inside me this whole time." He smiled while shaking his head.

"Well, whatever." He tossed the black orb directly at the artifact.

*BUUZZZZZ*