Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

I lowered my head and let out another quiet laugh. "...I really am an idiot."

Thinking about all the possibilities, a question quickly arose in my mind.

’Would I lose if Isis becomes an Outer Goddess, Amunet?’

There was a long silence from her side before an answer came. "Yes."

’...Of course.’

I had spent so much time trying to understand Amun-Ra’s plan that I had failed to notice the most obvious possibility.

He didn’t need to kill Osiris himself. All the plans for Set and everything else were just a decoy.

It was always his plan to kill Osiris himself...it was the only way to obtain his Authority.

He had already arranged everything.

If Osiris died, Isis would complete the eight pillars willingly.

If I tried to stop her, I would become her enemy who was trying to stop her from reviving her husband.

And if I had killed Osiris myself, I would only make things worse.

’...And now Isis has a reason to complete the eighth pillar.’

I looked at the woman sitting in front of me.

She was still holding Osiris tightly, as if refusing to accept that his body had already gone cold.

There was no way I could convince her to simply abandon the idea of becoming the Outer Goddess, and honestly, I didn’t even know whether it would be a part of Amun-Ra’s plan or not.

’...Everything from start to finish was already planned, and all I could do was watch from the side, too afraid to interfere myself.’

I looked up at her one last time, and the woman didn’t shy away from projecting her anger through her eyes.

Letting out a soft breath, I whispered. "In the end, we were meant to be enemies."

Without saying anything else, I turned around and walked away from the whole mess.

My body flew through the air as I aimlessly moved through the world.

The world beneath me slowly turned into a blur as deserts, cities, forests, and rivers passed below.

The war between me and Amun-Ra had now turned into a three-way war, with both of my opponents much stronger and more ancient than me.

I stopped in the middle of the sky, my body remaining suspended above the clouds as I stared at my hands.

These hands belonged to Amun-Ra, and the power inside them belonged to Amun-Ra.

Even the soul that Anubis had examined had been recognized as Amun-Ra’s.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’...Then what the hell am I?’

What would happen to me if I lost this stupid game created by Azrael?

For a moment, I remembered my old body, old life, the people I knew, and the people I cared for.

All of it suddenly felt strangely distant.

’Was I really brought here...or did I simply die in the hands of Morningstar?’

The thought made my stomach twist.

I closed my eyes, and Amun-Ra’s face immediately appeared inside my mind.

That arrogant smile and ancient voice.

The way he had looked at me as if I were nothing more than another piece on his board.

"Our density is much more intertwined than you think."

I slowly opened my eyes. "...Intertwined."

That word had been bothering me ever since he said it.

Even if I won this game, would I even be myself, or would I become something else entirely?

Surely, all those memories that I would inherit would fuck with my mind, turning me into a different person.

’...Then what is the point of this fight?’

...I didn’t know.

I was truly at a loss with the direction my life was going.

Perhaps that was the real reason I was so angry.

Perhaps I was losing myself even before the merging of souls even happened.

The anger wasn’t simply because Amun-Ra had manipulated everything.

It was because I couldn’t tell where his existence ended and mine began.

"...Fuck."

Maybe the person I believed myself to be was already being overwritten.

Maybe the reason my soul looked ancient was because I had already begun becoming Amun-Ra.

"...No." I shook my head. "I am Himmel."

The words sounded strangely weak in the empty sky.

I repeated them, much louder, as loudly as my body could scream.

"I AM HIMMEL!!"

Just as I calmed down, I felt a presence by my side that I had been trying to ignore all this while.

I turned around and saw the olive-haired woman standing beside me with glassy eyes.

Without even understanding anything, a small chuckle left my mouth. "...Are you crying, Amunet?"

I fully turned toward her as I looked at the goddess who was half responsible for my misery. "Why are you all people crying at my condition?"

My hands slowly moved toward her neck as I began to cut off the circulation of air.

Amunet didn’t resist. Her body remained completely still as my fingers tightened around her neck.

I could feel her pulse beneath my hand, but she made no attempt to break free.

"Why?" I asked quietly, my voice trembling with anger. "Why are you crying for me?"

Amunet looked directly into my eyes. All she had was sadness in them. "...Because I know what you’re going through."

I tightened my grip on her neck. The pressure I was applying was enough to kill a demigod.

"Don’t." My lips parted slightly as I spoke clearly. "You don’t fucking know me, and you have no right to feel sad for me."

This woman had nothing to do with me. She was the wife of Amun-Ra, an ally of his, someone who would rather die for him.

She raised her hand and caressed my face like a mother to her child. "...You have gone through enough pain, Himmel."

"Ah, you and your goddamn manipulation." I spoke coldly. "YOU AND YOUR GODDAMN MANIPULATION!!"

She didn’t show any emotion toward my outburst. All she did was look at me with sadness.

"You knew Osiris would die." Her eyes trembled slightly as I spoke. "You knew Isis would complete the pillars."

"...Yes."

That single word made something inside me snap.

I threw her away, and her body flew backward and crashed into the sand several hundred metres away.

The desert shook beneath the impact, and I immediately appeared above her. "Then why the hell did you let me suffer?"

Amunet slowly lifted herself from the sand and looked at me again. "Because there was nothing I could do."

"Bullshit." I grabbed her by the collar and lifted her from the ground. "You are the referee."

"You think being a referee means I can change the rules?" Her voice remained calm. "I cannot interfere with the outcome."

"Then what the fuck are you doing here?" My grip tightened as I glared at her. "If you can’t interfere, why do you keep following me?"

Amunet stared at me for several seconds. "...Because I wanted to see you."

I let out a soft chuckle, unable to understand what she was blabbering about.

Though she didn’t seem to mind the disrespect as she explained.

"The more you try to conflict with your own existence..." She whispered in a low voice. "...the higher the chance Amun-Ra will have of taking over your body."

Amunet’s words made my expression freeze. "...What?"

She looked at me without any hesitation.

"The more you question whether you are Himmel, the weaker your sense of self becomes." Her voice remained gentle. "And the weaker your sense of self becomes, the easier it will be for Amun-Ra to overwrite it."

My fingers slowly loosened around her collar as more things began to make sense.

The words of Amun-Ra lingered in my mind, repeating again and again.

"Our density is much more intertwined than you think."

I had assumed he was talking about the nature of our souls.

But perhaps he had been talking about something much deeper.

"You’re saying that my own doubts are helping him?" I mumbled in doubt and disbelief.

"Every time you accept one of his memories as your own, every time you wonder whether your thoughts belong to you, and every time you question whether you are truly Himmel..."

She paused for a moment. "...you give him another piece of yourself."

’...Then this entire existential crisis isn’t just affecting my mind.’

It was actually changing the balance between our souls.

I had spent hours questioning my existence because I wanted to understand what I was.

But if Amunet was telling the truth, then every question I asked could be pushing me closer to becoming Amun-Ra.

"...How convenient." A bitter laugh escaped my mouth as I rubbed my face. "Was it also part of the game rules that I am not aware of?"

She remained silent, effectively giving me the answer.

’Of course.’ I looked toward the distant horizon. ’Even my doubts are part of his plan.’

"The closer the eight pillars get to completion, the stronger the connection between you and Amun-Ra will become."

The lady spoke, forcing me to stare at her body, which was slowly vanishing.

I kept looking at her as I asked. "And once the eighth pillar is completed?"

Amunet looked back at me. "Then the two of you will be forced toward the same destination."

Her body vanished, leaving behind the words.

"So if you want to survive..."

I slowly raised my head.

"...You need to remain yourself until then."