Chapter 34 - I Refuse To Submit Until… [2]
A familiar sensation washed over me.
The feeling of my mind separating from my body.
The next moment, I found myself standing in an endless world of darkness.
There was no sky, no ground, no sound.
Only me.
Then I felt a slender hand gently wrap around my neck from behind.
It wasn’t choking me.
It was... possessive.
"Why do you refuse such a brilliant future?" her voice echoed from every direction.
"This isn’t the future I want."
I tried to shout.
No sound left my mouth.
Instead, my will itself seemed to answer her.
"You only need to say yes," she whispered.
"Then every desire a human could ever dream of will become yours. Wealth, power, companionship... everything."
As she spoke, an invisible force seeped into my mind.
It was something akin to a persuasive power.
Every word gently pushed my thoughts in a single direction.
Agree. Submit. Accept.
’I knew it! This was rigged from the very beginning.’
I clenched my will.
"No."
The darkness stirred.
I felt another touch brush across my back.
It was warm and comforting. Like the touch of a long-lost lover.
Every instinct told me to relax and stop resisting.
An indescribable sense of bliss spread through my consciousness.
It wasn’t physical.
It was as though every regret, every fear, every burden was quietly melting away.
"...!"
For one terrifying moment, I understood why someone would surrender.
My thoughts became sluggish.
Like sinking into a warm sea.
Then another voice echoed.
"Obey me."
Another followed.
"Adore me."
"Exist for me."
"Live for me."
"Make me happy."
The voices multiplied until they surrounded me from every direction.
They weren’t merely speaking.
They were engraving themselves onto my mind.
Each word tried to overwrite a piece of who I was.
"I refuse...!"
My answer remained unchanged.
Time lost all meaning.
Did seconds pass or hours, I couldn’t tell.
The voices never stopped.
They tempted me.
Comforted me.
Threatened me.
Promised me everything.
Sometimes I even saw fleeting images of a peaceful life, limitless strength, people praising me and loving me.
Everything I had ever wanted, if only I would say one word.
Yes.
My consciousness wavered again and again.
Had it not been for the fortitude forged across two lifetimes.
Had it not been for Rejuvenation constantly restoring the fragments of my wavering mind...
I was certain I would already have fallen.
Somewhere beyond the darkness, I felt an emotion of surprise.
’What an absurdly stubborn will. I like you even more now.’
The pressure suddenly changed.
Pleasure disappeared and pain replaced it.
Unimaginable pain.
It felt as though my very soul was being torn apart and stitched back together over and over again.
An invisible scream escaped me.
Yet my answer never changed.
"I refuse! I refuse! I refuse."
For the first time, the voices hesitated.
"It’s alright," she whispered softly.
"Endure one moment of pain, and I’ll give you an eternity of happiness."
Something inside me finally snapped.
"What happiness?! What pleasure?! I don’t want a future someone else chose for me! I don’t even want that empty pleasure and happiness you promise! And I refuse to submit before I build my own harem, you motherfucker!"
The instant those words left me, the darkness trembled.
Far away, a tiny speck of light appeared.
At first it was no larger than a faraway star.
Then, it slowly expanded becoming an exit.
Without thinking, I staggered toward it.
Each step felt impossibly heavy.
It was as though the darkness itself were pulling me backward.
"No-No-No...!"
For the first time, genuine panic entered her voice.
"Please stay."
Another wave of drowsiness washed over me.
Sleep. Forgetfulness. And acceptance.
I slammed my fist against my own head.
The pain kept me awake.
Then I forced another step forward.
"I won’t take anything from you. I’ll earn it myself."
Behind me, the pleading grew increasingly desperate.
"Anywhere but there! Please...! Don’t leave!"
I kept walking.
The ancients often said that the mind possessed limitless power.
And now I really wanted to believe this.
"NOOOOOOOOO—!"
Her scream shook the darkness itself.
At that instant, I felt an unfamiliar connection form between us.
It was fragile, but it undeniably existed.
I had no idea what it meant.
Had Evren possessed a System, perhaps a notification would have appeared.
[Waifu +1]
But there was no System.
Only I existed and my own determination.
In this unpredictable world.
Even without a System...
I would build my own harem.
The darkness shattered as everything turned white.
***
The next moment I opened my eyes.
The first thing I felt was warmth.
Ysvéra was leaning against me, her arms loosely wrapped around my shoulders.
At the same time, I felt her fangs slide out of my neck.
I instinctively shoved her away.
"What the..." Before I could finish cursing, I froze.
She was staring at me.
And her violet eyes were filled with tears.
"..."
I blinked.
’Hold on a minute.’
Shouldn’t I be the one on the verge of crying here?
I was the one who had nearly died.
I was the one who had been dragged into some ridiculous ritual.
So why did she look like I had ruined her life?
She quickly turned her face away, wiping the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Tch! Don’t look at me."
"..."
That only made me more suspicious.
"What did you do to me?" I asked cautiously.
She remained silent.
Her expression looked defeated.
Like someone who had just lost everything in a single gamble.
For some reason, I could almost understand how she felt.
That realization startled me as I frowned.
There was now a connection between her and me.
It felt as though somewhere deep inside me, a thread now linked us together.
At the same time, my senses had become unnaturally sharp.
I could hear the dripping blood at the other end of the chamber.
Even my heartbeat sounded louder than before.
’Wait.’ I slowly narrowed my eyes.
Then looked at Ysvéra.
"...Sit."
It was just an experiment.
If some kind of master-slave contract had formed.
But Ysvéra didn’t move.
Instead, she glared at me with enough hatred to kill an ordinary person.
"Do you take me for some pet you bastard?! I really want to kill you now..."
She paused as her expression stiffened.
"N-No... I can’t do that now."
The last words sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.
"What exactly happened?" I asked, my voice becoming much more serious.
"Why do I feel different? And don’t tell me you’ve turned me into a vampire."
Ysvéra bit her lower lip hard enough for blood to appear.
She lowered her head.
For several long seconds, she said nothing.
Finally, she let out a long, frustrated sigh before glaring at me.
"First."
She pointed a finger at me, then at herself.
"My name is Ysvéra, and if you’re going to ask questions, at least have the decency to use it, you bastard."