Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1455 - 241: A Deal

"The world is very small, Kyle," said Danacus, his voice growing intense for the first time. "If you live long enough, you’ll realize the world is incredibly small, too small indeed. Especially for someone like me with an endless life, this confined world can never satisfy me. Indeed, I currently know only a very small part of it. But as an immortal, I have ample time—if a million years isn’t enough, then ten million, and if that isn’t sufficient, a hundred million years will do. Eventually, I will understand everything about this world, familiarize myself with every corner. At that time, this world will no longer represent a living space for me but a limitation, a prison. I will be eternally trapped within a cage formed by this world, never to find anything novel again. What then?" His voice raised in excitement, "What should I do when there’s nothing unknown left to lose all desires and pursuits, even losing interest in everything? Should I just decay slowly in a cage made up of this world and kill the endless time with a long sleep? No, I refuse such a future. I’ve slept for hundreds of thousands of years and I’m sick of it. When I woke up last time and thought about how even if I regained my Divine Duty and became the principal god of the Death System again, the future would merely consist of slumbering away the time—I had already decided. I will not accept that future. I will exert every effort to break free from the cage that binds me and confront countless new worlds," Danacus declared.

"That’s a commendable aspiration," Pannis commented with narrowed eyes, listening attentively until Danacus finally stopped, then nodded in praise. "I must admit, your ambition is unexpected. Hearing your declaration, I can’t help but admire you somewhat."

"Then why do you still stop me?" Danacus asked. "If you approve of my thoughts, you should cooperate with me."

"That question is nonsense," Pannis retorted sharply. "Your ambition is indeed admirable, but it’s based on all of us perishing—how can I possibly not stop you? No matter how noble your purpose, it should not be founded on the sacrifice of others. If it were just about you striving to enhance your power, to master more rules, and ultimately breaking the limits to leave this world, I would never stop you. In fact, I would try my best to help. But what about you? Your method to achieve your goals involves sacrificing everyone, sacrificing this world. Therefore, as a member of this world and one of the potential sacrifices, I am naturally compelled to do whatever it takes to stop you and protect this world."

"I understand," sighed Danacus. "You agree with my goals but not with the methods I’m using to achieve them, even if that’s the only way."

"Exactly," Pannis nodded seriously. "The moment you chose this method of plundering, it was inevitable that we would become enemies. This beautiful world, along with all the living and Undead beings on it—I will not allow you to destroy it."

"I thought that your yearning for the unknown would make you and me the same kind of person. Now it seems you are still just a mortal after all, your way of thinking constrained to a mortal’s inferior mindset, utterly unable to understand the grandeur of my aims," Danacus said, disappointedly. "Since that’s the case, let’s make a deal." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"You want to make a deal with me?" Pannis repeated, as if unable to believe his own ears, word for word. "Nothing wrong with my ears, is there? What do you think our relationship is? I think the only thing between us is a relationship of killing or being killed. Trading isn’t something that should, or even could, happen between us, as there’s no room for compromise."

"Don’t be so quick to conclude, mortal or Deity—jumping to conclusions isn’t a good habit," Danacus said slowly, his voice chilling, even though Pannis clearly expressed refusal. "Why not listen to the details of the deal first before making a decision?"

"Sure, I haven’t stopped you," shrugged Pannis, casually. "If you want to speak, of course I’m willing to listen. After all, I’m just buying time. As long as I achieve my goals, what happens during the process doesn’t matter at all."

"That’s good, that’s very good," said Danacus, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, his voice eerie. "First, I must acknowledge you—this conversation, after meeting you again, has given me a new understanding of you. Your current mental state is much more stable than when we first met, and your will is much firmer. I admit, it’s no longer as easy as before to create a gap in your mind and drive you into a state of mental collapse. This change has surprised me and caused a lot of trouble."

"Thanks for the compliment—it’s my honor, and unfortunately for you, your misfortune," Pannis smiled, squinting. "Indeed very troublesome, troublesome enough that you must collaborate with me to buy time, probing from all angles in an attempt to find a weakness in my mental defenses."

"Forcibly taking over your body isn’t out of the question, and if I wanted to do so, you couldn’t stop me," Danacus confessed without denying his continuous probing and attempts. "But doing so would make no difference from continuing to use this body. Replacing your body would be pointless; what I need is a body without the will to resist, not a mental battlefield."

"I had guessed as much; Nellie’s fierce resistance must indeed be giving you a headache," Pannis said, the smile on his face not for Danacus but directed towards the other soul within Nellie’s body. "The war has never ended, has it?"

"Yes, I admit, these years of body-snatching have worn my patience thin; I don’t want to replace a new body only to go through it all over again," Danacus said sternly. "Therefore, I want to make a deal with you."

"Let’s hear it," Pannis stood up, looking directly into the eyes that belonged to Nellie. "What do you want, and what are you willing to give up?"

"Naturally, I want your body. I hope you will give up resisting, let me devour your soul and take over your body," Danacus said earnestly. "As for what I’ll give up, well, think about it—what would happen to this body I’m currently using if I took over yours?"

At this proposal, Pannis’s expression finally changed.