Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 452: A new Myth

[Unbelievable!]

Astonishment gripped The Will, its typically neutral and androgynous tone giving way to an ancient, vital force that defied comprehension.

Echidna paid no heed to The Will's words, nor to the judgments of these vile ascenders.

She perceived the disdain in their gazes, eroded by eons, their mocking grins etched eternally on their faces, their minds poisoned by barely restrained insanity.

Yes, she sensed them all. Their auras bore down on her without mercy.

Thus, she covered her face with her gore-soaked hands, clawing at it as though eager to mar her own visage — not from embarrassment, but as rebellion against her very being.

Her choice stood firm, though her essence rebelled, urging her to retract her declaration.

She rejected it utterly, with every fiber of her strength, even forsaking all that defined Echidna Serpentine.

Gradually, in a terrifying ritual, Echidna unwound her form like unraveling thread. The surrounding domain trembled, then shattered, mirroring the inner fractures tearing at her core.

Her lips parted in a gaping maw, she howled, then tears flowed, culminating in the wails of an infant.

It seemed as if she regressed toward a time predating her birth, one step at a time.

Crimson tears trickled forth, infused with an alien essence — the raw stuff of her might.

The creatures bound eternally to her joined her in sobs, experiencing her demise in the most agonizing and unforeseen manner.

Echidna's form steadily dissolved — her frame shrank, withering like a deflating sack.

Her eyes tumbled from their orbits. Her tongue slithered free, followed by limbs and viscera spilling outward.

She liquefied, morphing into an enigma beyond most perceptions. Even deities struggled with it. The torment involved was soul-shattering, pushing Echidna toward the brink of sanity's loss.

Yet what did it signify?

In moments, she would vanish. So why fret? Still, she did, and thus wept harder still.

The transformation persisted until the Mother of Monsters reduced to a heap of scattered meat, vitality, gore, and innards. A faint emerald glow emanated where her mind once resided.

That glow pulsed erratically, fading like a star on the verge of extinction.

Shrill cries echoed from the beasts, resounding across the entire Graveyard of Monsters. It was a dirge of grief, laced with fury and profound, boiling rage.

At last, the emerald gleam extinguished, devoured by void.

The realm halted, plunging into a tense, suffocating hush.

Then, from Echidna's remnants, a radiant gleam burst forth. It shimmered in shades of blood-red and obsidian, with limbs surging from the fabric of existence, seizing the debris.

Sanity itself strangled under superfluous lunacy.

Those limbs toiled upon the residue, reshaping Echidna's leavings into a new form — a different entity.

The ritual evoked mystery, terror, and sanctity. Beasts materialized nearby; creatures of every kind, scale, hue, and contour.

Among them loomed a distinctive one, nearest to the unfolding rite. It was a serpent, massive and broad, its hide shimmering with verdant scales, crowned by a pair of protrusions.

The serpent's gaze was singular, its irises forming an ouroboros loop. The creature hissed, prompting the encircling monsters to unleash their howls.

This cry transcended mere noise. It formed a melody. A melody of Renewal and Insanity.

Beyond Echidna's sepulcher, inexplicably, the other beasts commenced dancing and chanting in a terrifying yet devout fashion.

The spectacle darkened the overhead firmament like a domain untouched by illumination, an foreboding aura permeating the vicinity.

Returning to the crypt's depths, the ritual gradually concluded in pitying closure, the entity's contours now sharply defined.

It proved to be Inara Ouroboros Serpentine, resurrected from the ashes of her aunt, her mentor, her progenitor.

The scarlet-ebon limbs receded sequentially, leaving only faint luminous trails that seeped into Inara's midriff.

Once again, the atmosphere grew still, succeeded by the utter quietude of the beasts.

Abruptly, as if commanded, they lowered their heads, brows touching earth in fervent adoration.

Inara's form remained inert briefly, then rhythmic thumps resounded through the Graveyard of Monsters.

BADUM—! BADUM—! BADUM—!

Initially languid, the pulse accelerated until Inara's torso quivered with each monstrous heartbeat.

Finally, Inara's lids flew apart. The sound resembled a timepiece striking its destined chime.

Her verdant and scarlet-black veined orbs beheld the realm. She blinked once, twice, before registering the monsters encircling her broadly.

Each one inclined in obeisance.

Insight gleamed in her sight, befitting derangement, and The Will intoned.

[You have inherited the Full Legacy of Echidna, The Mother of Monsters, and even more.]

[You have inherited everything of Her, and that even the Right of a Chosen Pathway once you are ready to walk that path.]

[Truly Unbelievable.]

[You are the first being in Existence to receive such a Gift, Inara Ouroboros Serpentine.]

[Your name will be remembered. Your Legend shall be sung by monsters and humans alike. Your Myth is taking root, and spreading all over the worlds.]

The Will fell silent momentarily, as Inara absorbed the messages with a heart that wouldn't cease its frenzy. Rather than awe, joy, or triumph within her...

A overwhelming wave of sorrow assailed Inara, poised to consume her entirely.

Only now did she grasp the inheritance's depth, far beyond mere strength or title. Far indeed.

The surrounding and distant monsters raised their maws skyward, parting them broadly. Drawing upon every ounce of their spirit and essence, they bellowed at the cosmos in loathing and resistance.

The heavens darkened further, churning with derangement.

That sealed it.

[Congratulations, you have succeeded.]

[You have obtained your Myth: Mother of Monsters.]

Breath eluded Inara's chest. She grimaced, then drew in a harsh gulp of air as The Will's final proclamation reverberated across the Graveyard of Monsters.

[A new Mother of Monsters has been crowned.]

[Inara Ouroboros Serpentine is reborn as the Mother of Monsters, successor of Echidna and Scion of Madness.]

The serpent hissed, temporal flow faltering.

The monsters bellowed.

The skies shed obsidian droplets.

—End of Chapter 452—