Chapter 784: Something That Connects Us

“…I want you to know that this is really terrifying to imagine, it’s something very abstract and not linear at all in our lives… I understood what you meant, Goddess of Death… and I believe you, I feel like you are me,” I say to Pandora with a sad tone.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, it sounds awful, but you’re also one among many Pandoras! I, as the Goddess of Death, feel sorry for your life!! But I also want something,” she says while I look at the girl beside her.

“Who is this girl? And what will happen to me now that I’ve died?” I died. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my revenge. I feel so heavy, and I feel like a failure. I wonder where everything went wrong.

“Well, this here is the Red King! You kind of didn’t meet him in this timeline! Anyway, Pandora, just ignore the Red King!! This cute little girl is mine!! And thank you for sharing your worldview with me!! Hehehe, it’s really interesting to see the perspective of a Pandora who lost.”

“…Are you really going to throw that in my face?” I feel offended, but I don’t have a body to express my dissatisfaction. This ‘Pandora’ who claimed to be from another timeline and to be a Goddess of Death who wishes to become absolute death appeared out of nowhere.

She collected my soul shortly after I died and started asking a bunch of invasive questions, and it’s starting to get frustrating.

“You’re a Pandora too, aren’t you? Did you get your revenge, Goddess of Death?”

“Yes, yes, indeed I got my revenge. Revenge is quite sweet. It’s a shame you died so young—”

“Pandora, you should stop hurting the other Pandora. Let’s go, you’ve already seen what you wanted,” the Red King says while I honestly wonder why this cute girl calls herself the Red King.

‘…’

“Alright, alright!! We’re leaving now. I just have one last question. Hey, Pandora, you died, but why aren’t you crying?” Her asking why I’m not crying is like trying to stomp on what I did. I knew I could die from the moment I accepted the Goddess of the Abyss’s offer.

“…Tsk, can’t a person even die in peace anymore… why would I cry?… it’s just… disappointing. I… I wanted to get my revenge, but I had already accepted the risk of dying. Still, I feel like everything I did was for nothing.”

“Honestly… it lifts my spirits to know there are other versions of me who got their revenge. Imagining those vermin suffering makes me happy, even though in my universe I failed…” I tell her, and she gives a nod.

“You know, Pandora, it’s rare for us to fail. Honestly, you usually die long before the revenge or right after it. Dying to the heroes is something that only happened to a few versions of us, so I enjoyed talking to you!!”

‘Most of us die before facing the heroes?…’

“I’m not happy to know I’m rare just because I failed at that specific aspect of life…”

“Hehehe, but you should be. Being rare is something unique, and there are plenty of others who fail long before you or a little after you!!! Across infinite timelines, and considering all our branches, having an event that happens only a few times makes you special.”

“If being killed by the ones I want to kill for revenge makes me special, then I didn’t want to be special…” I mutter, making it clear I want her to stop talking about it.

“Alright, alright, poor soul!! Let’s make a deal, shall we?! You let me devour you, you’ll be completely erased and become a stepping stone toward my goal, and in exchange, I’ll get your revenge for you! I’ll kill the heroes brutally and torture their souls for you!!”

“That… sounds interesting… if I refuse… what will happen to my soul?”

“It will collapse, and you’ll probably be reborn as someone really weak at random, or your soul will just break irreparably and you’ll basically cease to exist since you can’t reincarnate and won’t have any awareness of anything.”

“So… all I have left is this?!! That’s not fair!! They have to suffer, so if I’m going to disappear, then devour me!! But make them suffer!! Avenge me!! If you do that, my soul is yours.” I already didn’t care about any of this since I accepted being reborn as the daughter of the Goddess of the Abyss.

“Perfect! Thank you for being my stepping stone!! I seek out many Pandoras to propose helping them in exchange for them helping me, and many refuse. They’re so prideful. At least most of them are reasonable and don’t question me too much.”

“I hate having to explain over and over that I came from another timeline! Anyway, thank you for the deal.” She grabs me, holding my soul.

“I’ll let you watch the heroes’ suffering before I devour you, so you can feel satisfied.”

“…That’s nice… but what happened to your home? To Elena? And Zephyra?” Why did she have to go to another timeline?

“…That’s personal… come on, Red King, we have work to do. Hold her here.” Pandora hands me to the Red King as she opens a hole in the ground and jumps inside.

“…You were foolish, even more so for accepting the proposal of a mad, insane being like Pandora. Why did you do it?”

“She’ll hold up her end?” I question her.

“Yes, obviously—”

“Then that’s enough. Revenge is all I want. I don’t care if she’s here because of another me from who-knows-where, as long as she makes those bastards suffer a lot before dying.”

“…Why the hell are all of you Pandoras so obsessed with revenge? So far there hasn’t been a single version of you that forgave the heroes…” I feel offended.

“You think we should forgive that trash?! Then you’re an idiot! Shut up and obey the other Pandora already. Jump into that hole and let me watch my reward before my death.”

“…You Pandoras are insane… letting your soul be consumed just for that? How foolish.” The Red King jumps into the hole, and we emerge in a place I recognize — the ruins of my castle.

‘…’

“You still have time to change your mind—”

“Just shut up. I want to watch everything in silence!! I don’t care what other Pandoras do, only what I’ll gain right now!! Besides, I feel proud knowing there isn’t a single Pandora who forgave that trash.”

“…Fine, I’ll stop trying to help, obviously. It’s unbelievable how even versions of the same person can be so irrational.” She holds my soul, pointing it toward the other Pandora.

“Watch and enjoy your last moments of existence. There’s no backing out after she does this—”

“I don’t care. Be quiet. It’s about to start.”

“…Tsk”