Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 455: Paradox

Chapter 455 – Paradox

"For a rather delectable act of Blasphemy."

His declaration set off a violent reaction in the surroundings. Jagged, blood-stained chains surged upward from the sea below, entangling Woeful like a ghastly burial shroud.

A mournful groan escaped the goddess. Her ruby-hued eyes had shifted to an absolute, void-like black, while dark teardrops traced endless paths down her cheeks.

She radiated a furious surge of sorrow, desperate to shatter her bindings, yet it proved futile. Kaden’s mental realm obeyed his own set of laws; he and Rea had played this game, leveraging their strengths, and they had emerged victorious with fair tactics.

Defeated, the goddess was now forced to endure the consequences. Woeful understood this reality well, but that hardly meant she would submit to such indignity from mortals.

Thus, she lashed out, rebelling and unleashing her power, only to grind to a halt as Kaden stepped within an inch of her. Beside him, Rea gazed at her with a malicious glee that the goddess recognized all too intimately.

He crouched down, bringing his face level with the goddess’s tear-streaked features.

"Will you provide an honest answer if I ask why you are so obsessed with possessing Rea?" he inquired, puzzled by Woeful’s peculiar fixation. "Why her and not anybody else?"

"Are you certain you wish to know, Kaden?"

"I would hardly have bothered to ask otherwise."

"If so, then release me and join me," Woeful replied, wearing a smile so sorrowful it was painful to behold. "Walk beside me, Kaden Warborn, and I shall divest every secret of my existence. I will shield you from the gods who hunger to see you dead or intend to use you as their tool."

Rea scowled. "You wretch, you would even attempt to snatch my fiancé from me? Is there no end to your overreach?"

The goddess barely afforded her a glance. "Silence."

"Repeat that if you dare," Rea growled, taking a menacing step forward as her eyes brimmed with frigid fury.

Woeful remained entirely unimpressed. "I said—!"

"A mortal and a goddess?" Kaden interrupted, cutting their heated exchange short. "A truly fascinating spectacle that would be."

His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"You would find it surprising, Kaden, to learn how many such unions have existed ever since the path of Ascendancy was unveiled." The goddess offered a humorless smile, then fixed a narrow, intense gaze upon him. "Furthermore, you are far less of a mortal than any I have ever encountered. Beware, for I have witnessed beings hovering at the very threshold of Ascension, and I have traversed worlds to see unique entities roaming the void."

Woeful leaned forward, drawing a chorus of metallic rattling from the chains that cinched tighter around her—she ignored the agony, speaking nonetheless:

"You are many things, Kaden Warborn. You are a collection of traits that should never have been allowed to coexist."

"People tend to remark that I am gifted."

"You are far more than that."

"Are you attempting to seduce me?"

"Indeed. Am I an improvement over this bland Rea?"

"Can you keep my name out of your sorrow-tainted mouth?" Rea hissed.

Ignoring her once more, the goddess addressed Kaden, "What fate have you chosen for me?"

"That hinges entirely on what my fiancée requires of you," he replied, swiveling his head toward Rea. "What is your desire? We are within the confines of my mind; I wield the ultimate authority here. Make your choice carefully, and I shall see it done."

The goddess remained wordless as her tears fell with increased intensity. She shifted her gaze toward Rea, and their eyes locked.

In that fleeting moment, time seemed to freeze.

They harbored deep hatred for one another, it was true, yet nobody—not even Kaden—understood Rea as completely as the goddess did. Conversely, no one knew the goddess better than Rea.

They had coexisted for years, locked in a cycle of combat, vitriol, and endless squabbling.

There were nights during which the two fought within the depths of Rea’s mind until dawn broke. There were moments when the goddess, consumed by lethargy, simply observed Rea, turning their existence into a tense, staring contest. There were times the goddess’s power bolstered Rea through the harrowing trials of the Church, and days where Woeful’s persistent presence was her only companion.

They had been bound for so long that Rea realized, with a heavy heart, she could no longer imagine a reality where the goddess didn't dwell within her mind. She had grown accustomed to the wretch, and that wretch, in turn, had grown so habituated to her that she shared the very same possessive feelings toward her man.

A goddess, now jealous of a mortal romance—this was certainly not part of Woeful’s grand design.

As they stared at one another, a decision crystallized within Rea, and the goddess offered a thin, knowing smile, understanding it before the words were even spoken.

"Are you entirely certain?" the goddess asked, laughing softly. "You are tempting forces you ought not to provoke."

"I imagined you would be pleased, you wretch."

"I am, truly. Oh, I am. But you invite too great a risk. And besides..." Woeful glanced at Kaden, who was listening with calm, unwavering focus. "...are you certain our dear fiancé will accept such a thing?"

Rea offered no reply. Instead, she fixed her gaze intensely upon Kaden. She knelt, ensuring she was face-to-face with him.

Already, the man felt a foreboding that he would not enjoy the path this was taking. The goddess laughed uncontrollably, though a strain of apprehension and nascent fear laced her sorrowful tone.

"Do you trust me, Kaden?"

"I generally despise when a conversation commences with that question."

"Just answer me, damn you."

"I do."

Rea reached out, clasping Kaden’s hands, letting him feel the lingering, necrotic chill of death that still clung to her.

"Would that trust hold firm if I told you I seek retribution against the goddess?"

"It would, though I would likely assume you had lost your sanity," Kaden stated. "Ease my burden. You haven't done something reckless, have you?"

Rea cackled. "Sorrow bless me, Kaden, you are aware by now that my mind dwells in a state that even I fear to comprehend."

"That is precisely why you should refrain from monumental decisions right now. If I exhaust every ounce of my effort, I can shield you from the goddess’s influence for a time. Use that respite to collect yourself."

I realize how death can venomously stain the soul. I am fully aware of that, Rea. Just listen to me.

"But that is not what I desire," Rea retorted, shaking her head stubbornly. "I cannot wait, for fear that I might lose my nerve. I cannot, Kaden. Please, try to understand. This is not mere vengeance. This is me accepting my true nature, for once by my own volition."

"And what is it that you are?"

"I am Sorrow," she declared with eerie swiftness, wearing a ghostly smile. "So, release me."

"You will lose your sense of self," Kaden said, his voice strained with anxiety and hidden terror. "You are challenging a goddess, Rea! Have you forgotten?"

"Would your love prove different if I were?"

He paused, his mouth hanging slightly open before he snapped it shut. Finding his voice once more, he sighed in resignation, "Blood and ashes, of course not."

Rea bared her teeth in a mournful grin. "That is all that matters to me. Because I know that no matter who I become, my love for you shall remain untarnished."

But love alone is insufficient, Rea. You realize that, don’t you?

Kaden longed to shout the words, but he forced himself to stay silent. He could see that Rea was suffering just as deeply as he was—perhaps even more.

But occasionally—often, even—life forces one onto a path where the only option is to bite one’s lip and descend into the abyss. A path that demands a transformation no one can foresee.

Was this not the ultimate paradox of existence? The only thing—

'Am I cursed?' he wondered. 'Meris is undergoing the same trial with her Primordial Frost. Now Rea with her Sorrow.'

Why, he pondered, do those I cherish always reach a juncture where they risk oblivion just to attain something greater?

'Emptiness?' he thought desperately, before shaking his head, dismissing the notion as irrational.

He let out a long breath and parted his lips.

"Tell me what I must do."

Rea smiled, and a single tear traced a path down her left eye, while an ivory tear leaked from the goddess’s right eye, standing out against the black ones.

"Seal her consciousness within mine. Let us do battle, my love. A mortal and her goddess—isn't it poetic?"

She laughed, a broken, hollow sound.

"And please, I beg of you, take me to the dungeon of the Whimpering Saintess."

She gripped his cheeks and kissed him with desperate intensity.

—End of Chapter 455—