Chapter 88: The Tributaries of Fate
“A… deal?”
Lying in agony on the ground, gasping for breath, Shelley felt a searing pain in his throat with every inhale. The intense pain had subsided, but the torment continued to churn in his mind. It was as if his brain had been frantically scrambled with an eggbeater.
Throb, throb, throb.
He could feel his temples pulsing with his racing heart.
A show of force… How moody.
“…What kind of deal?”
[A very simple deal!]
[You are dead.]
You’ve said that once already.
“So?”
[But because of your bloodline,]
[I can give you two choices!]
[Ta-da!]
Above the supine Shelley, two scantily clad succubi appeared. They winked at him, then extended their tongues and licked their lips. Seeing no reaction from Shelley, they flew off in disappointment, unfurling scrolls in their hands to his left and right.
Written on the scrolls, made from the skin of some unknown creature, were two simple words.
“Human and Demon?”
[That’s right!]
[I can give you a choice.]
[You get to choose which part of you dies!]
The voice was filled with excitement as it passionately explained, [The first choice: the human part of you dies!]
[You can cast off that weak human shell.]
[From now on, you will be a pure-blooded incubus!]
[I strongly recommend you choose this!]
[Just think about it!]
[No one will ever fight over you again.]
[They will all become your loyal slaves!]
Shelley wanted to speak, but he felt that he couldn’t make a sound. He could only close his mouth in frustration and curse silently in his mind…
At least… at least say ‘she’! I’m not gay!
[A world without arguments.]
[Everyone will kneel at your feet, kissing your toes.]
[Kissing the ground you walk on.]
[Offering you everything.]
[Their bodies, their wealth, their power, even their souls!]
[Isn’t that… something to long for?]
The grand voice echoed throughout the space, like a great bell, deafening and thought-provoking, sending his mind into chaos. Shelley didn’t want to listen to its temptations, but he couldn’t help but start to imagine such a world.
A grand vision began to appear before his eyes. A massive city floated in the sky. Swarms of dragons flew between the buildings, their occasional roars echoing through the clouds. The buildings and facilities were filled with a sense of advanced technology, the streets were neat, and it even gave Shelley a feeling of being back on Earth.
In the center of the city, closest to the dome of the sky, was an incredibly magnificent castle. Exquisite magical runes and mysterious formations covered its outer walls.
Shelley himself, wearing an emperor’s crown and a silver robe woven from softened mithril, lay on a soft couch on the highest platform of the city, lazily looking down at the mortals below.
To his left, Nadia, clad only in a light veil and wearing a crown, peeled a crystal-clear fruit for him, placed it on her pale skin, and held it up to his lips with both hands. To his right, Elena, wearing a similar crown and a bikini-like armor with no defensive value, also peeled a fruit, placed it on her own body, and leaned in.
Ignoring the two bickering women, Shelley took a wine glass from the Lilith in the shadows, casually tapped it against the empty air, and heard a soft moan, his expression unchanging. After taking a sip of wine, Shelley poured the rest onto the chest of the Lydia kneeling at the foot of his couch, letting them lick the wine from his hands.
Ignoring their playful noises, Shelley got up and walked back to the castle. Along the way, everyone respectfully prostrated themselves on the ground, their eyes filled with longing and desire for him. Elves, vampires, humans… there were all kinds of humanoid creatures. They were all beautiful, some were maids, others were guards…
Breathing in the faint fragrance in the air and the subtle hint of moisture, Shelley’s expression remained unchanged, still lazy and indifferent.
Just then, a group of shabbily dressed men, their faces weathered and their eyes bloodshot, arrived at the edge of the city. They roared in anger, wanting to take back everything that belonged to them. Wealth, status, power, dignity… relatives, lovers, wives, daughters, friends… They were the losers who had lost everything, the defeated dogs who could only huddle together in the shadows for warmth… This would be their final struggle.
But before they could reach the foot of the royal city, swarms of female guards appeared at the edge of their vision, looking at them coldly.
Death descended mercilessly…
In the massive bedroom, Shelley silently watched this scene from the window, then indifferently drew the curtains. With the help of his attendants, he took off his clothes and walked toward the crowded bed…
[This is a beautiful world.]
[All that is beautiful will be realized here.]
[But! If you choose the other option…]
The decadent scene of a wine pool and a meat forest changed, the picture turning completely white.
In a world of ice and snow, there was a simple wooden hut. A stooped, constantly coughing old man carried firewood back to the cold room. His face was covered with a thick, dry beard, his eyes were dull and weak, and his skin was like shriveled tree bark. But from the shape of his face, one could tell that he must have had many admirers in his youth.
He lit the stove in the room, then took out two jars of cloudy wine from under the floorboards. He smashed one jar, splashing its contents all over the room and the firewood, then threw down a torch.
FWOOSH!
The rising flames quickly ignited the dilapidated hut.
Ignoring the fire behind him, the old man, holding a wine jar, walked to the open space behind the house. There were… four graves covered in snow.
The old man took a swig of the strong wine. The cloudy liquid spilled onto his messy beard, flowing down with his tears. In the fierce blizzard, he took off his patched animal-skin clothes, his bare body trembling. He slowly lay down in the pit that had been dug decades ago and slowly closed his eyes.
“We… can finally be together again.”
He was Shelley…
[Without power, you cannot save anyone.]
[Everyone will leave you.]
[Whether you are willing or not.]
[That bitch Fate has such a terrible personality.]
Two images were presented before Shelley, as if he had arrived at a tributary of fate. One pointed to the clouds above, overlooking all living beings, with the right to play chess with the gods, using mortals as pawns. The other pointed to the depths of hell, losing everything, dying alone, unable to protect anyone.
[So now…]
A laugh, filled with amusement and playfulness, echoed in Shelley’s mind.
[What is your choice?]
