The Author's POV
chapter-852

As the sun shone high in the sky, illuminating all that was beneath, a foreboding crack split the sky.

Cr— Crack!

It began as a hairline fracture but quickly widened, tearing apart the fabric of reality with an eerie, otherworldly glow.

Gasps of awe and fear echoed through the land as the crack expanded and a terrifying energy swept throughout the earth.

"What's going on?"

"S,something is coming!?"

The fights that were happening beneath stalled, and everyone looked up in utter nervousness and fear.

From the depths of the fissure, an imposing figure emerged, stepping out onto Earth with an air of absolute authority.

Appearing in the sky, Jezebeth exuded an aura of pure darkness, his eyes burning with a malevolent crimson glow that pierced through the world like fiery embers.

His skin was ashen, marred with sinister runes that seemed to pulse with demonic energy. His sharp, angular features were twisted into a small smile that exuded boundless confidence.

He wore a tattered cloak that billowed around him, seemingly made of shadows themselves, swirling and undulating as if alive. His armor was a macabre fusion of metal and cores that glinted with a malevolent light.

Each step he took sent tremors through the ground, causing the very earth to shudder as a result.

As Jezebeth emerged fully from the crack in the sky, he surveyed the land with a sense of authority.

This was the second time he had returned to earth, and just when he thought he'd put an end to everything, things took an unexpected turn, and he was transported out.

Perhaps to buy time, or perhaps something else… It no longer mattered to Jezebeth.

But still, why did he choose to bring him out when he knew full well that their powers could destroy the entire planet?

"Hmm. I hope I'm not too late."

Jezebeth's presence was palpable, radiating a sense of overwhelming power and darkness that seemed to suffocate the very air.

The surrounding flora withered and died in his wake, and the temperature dropped, leaving a frigid chill in the air.

Jezebeth's arrival sent shockwaves through the earth, igniting fear and panic among the alliance members.

"Ha... ha... he, he is here..."

"Ah.. ho,ow are w,we supposed to beat that?"

Some fell to their knees, unable to withstand the sheer weight of his presence, while others rallied to resist, albeit with trembling resolve.

The skies were dyed red, and the earth seemed to tremble.

As everyone's eyes fell on the Demon King, a pair of grayish eyes similarly looked up.

They belonged to Ren, who was currently lying on a patch of green grass, unable to move. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his body trembled from time to time.

"Time's up..."

He muttered, albeit weakly.

He had done everything he could to delay the inevitable.

Staring at Jezebeth's figure, he saw him turn his head, and their gazes met.

Jezebeth smiled, and though Ren couldn't see clearly, he thought he saw him mouth the words, 'I see you.'

Taking a deep breath, Ren's chest heaved upward, and his eyes gradually came to a close.

When he opened them up again, the entire world had changed.

He was no longer lying down on the patch of grass. He was now standing in an empty world with a cloudless blue sky and a white floor, in which he could see his own reflection in.

When he raised his head, he found a certain figure standing.

"You planned this all out, didn't you?"

There stood someone with whom he was all too familiar with. He looked strikingly similar to him, apart from his eyes and hair which were of different colors.

"Again… and again you play these kinds of tricks as if this is some sort of game that you're playing."

There was a certain something in his voice as he spoke. Closing his eyes, Ren simply let him speak. Whatever he was saying, he wasn't wrong.

"If you want to vent, just vent, but I'll have you know that we don't have much time at our hands."

"You just…"

Opening his eyes again, he found his other self shaking his head. He looked like he wanted to say something. A lot of things. But he forced himself not to.

"I'll satiate your curiosity."

Ren spoke, his eyes focusing on his other self.

"Yes… I indeed knew about everything that was going to happen. Yes, I purposely sent you to the Pillar of Envy first. Yes, I knew that Smallsnake was still alive and purposely sent him to the Pillar of Lust, and yes… I knew that our father was going to die."

Pausing, he added.

"I made sure that last part happened."

Everything went silent after his words.

There was a certain order to his actions. It wasn't hard to predict which of the Pillars Ren would go after: the Pillar of Envy. They followed a certain sequence, which Ren knew his other self would follow.

Death… as sad as it was… was a great motivator for changing someone and making them seek a goal wholeheartedly.

Worrying about how much his actions would impede those within the Pillars and wasting time figuring out how to kill someone was not something that Ren desired.

Time was of the essence, and in order for that to happen, someone had to go.

Deliberating over the matter, he thought that the most appropriate choice was none other than their father.

Someone whose death would have the greatest of impact.

Sending Smallsnake to the last Pillar was also no coincidence. He was his assurance.

An assurance that would stop him from ever turning out like him.

Everything had been planned out from the beginning, and the fact that he stood before him was a testament that his plan had worked.

"I trust you already know why I did what I did, right?"

His words lingered in the air for a brief moment as silence continued to reign over the space where the two of them were.

"You—"

"You're too emotional and soft, right?"

Getting cut all of a sudden left a bitter taste in Ren's mouth, but he nodded his head.

"At least you're self aware."

"I get it."

Surprisingly, he seemed to have accepted the circumstances. When Ren looked at him, he could see an unsettling tranquility in him. It was odd but, at the same time, pleasing to see.

"Are you mad?"

"About what?"

"About the things that I did."

While Ren didn't feel sorry about what he did, he did find his tranquility odd. His next words brought about even more confusion.

"Why would I be?"

"Didn't I—"

"I've already figured you out."

Ren was once again cut off. The bitter taste in his mouth grew, but he once again let it slide. What he said attracted his attention more.

"You've figured me out?"

"Mhm."

Nodding his head, Ren watched as his other self took several steps in his direction.

Tap. Tap.

Within the empty space, the only sound that echoed was the rhythmical sound of his steps moving closer to him, until he eventually stopped a couple of meters away from him.

"My father's not really dead, is he? That feeling I felt before I sent them to Immorra… Where I felt my heart suddenly beat with unease? It was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Ah?"

The sudden question brought about confusion in Ren's mind, but before he could speak, the other version of him spoke once more.

"Deep down… You're not as heartless as you make yourself out to be. When I think about it, at the end of the day, you're still me, and I know myself better than anyone else."

"Especially since I know for a fact that you never had to do this from the very beginning, and if you wanted to, you could've defeated Jezebeth without my help, or me needing to do all the things that I did. Clearly, you were trying to prepare me for something."

Feeling something touch his chest, Ren looked to see a finger pointed at him.

"You never lost your emotions… they've always been there, and you just sealed them to numb yourself from the pain that you felt.

"If you were really as heartless as you make yourself out to be, why did you even bother doing what you did? You had the chance to kill yourself, yet you didn't…"

"Something triggered what you sealed, and hence why you've helped. Everything you did was for something… Perhaps I wasn't ready for whatever you were planning, and you had me absorb all of the laws hidden within the seven heads in order to get ready for whatever you were planning, but Kknowing myself very well, I know you'd never let my… no, our father, die."

For the very first time in quite a long time, Ren found himself unable to speak, and he eventually lowered his head. Slowly, his lips curled, and he shook his head.

"You really…"

"Really what? Huh? It doesn't feel good, does it?"

"It doesn't."

Ren shook his head and almost laughed.

'Is this how he felt whenever I saw through him? It sucks…'

He finally understood how it felt to be seen through, and he had to admit that he really disliked the feeling.

"It's good that you finally realize it."

Feeling his finger move away from his chest, Ren raised his head, and his eyes met with his other self. Looking directly at them, he could see his own reflection in them.

They were so similar yet so strikingly different. Perhaps it was a reflection of who they really were. Two people that looked the same but traveled completely different paths.

He… was the result of everything that could've gone wrong, and 'he' was… the result of everything that could've gone right.

So similar, yet so different.