My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 1282 - 1283: The Choices Available

Like putting poisonous bugs in a jar where only the single strongest one may live, and whoever survives to the end is the most poisonous," Damon said, able to picture it only in those terms.

Evangeline was quiet for a moment before nodding.

"Leona got me out of there by fighting me. When I reached far enough away, I was in a clear state of mind."

"Where is this place?" Abellona couldn’t help but ask.

Evangeline looked around, then closed her eyes before pointing in a direction.

Damon looked in that direction but didn’t see anything. Even so, he directed the whale-like monster towards it.

"Why were they doing all this? Why?" Evangeline couldn’t understand it. She had seen allies turn against each other, their minds so gripped by hatred that they could raise their weapons against dear friends over something so small. How could she ever forgive herself for what she had done?

"It’s the Pillar of Conflict, the Ninth Pillar of the Omniverse," Damon decided to tell them. There was no point in hiding it.

"All conflict throughout everything that exists and everything that will exist is tied to the Pillar of Conflict. Conflict is a necessary part of existence. The Pillar is the embodiment of all conflict. You must have all been affected by it because you were close to it."

Damon looked at Ric sleeping on his lap and whispered, "When the Goddess of Doom created this world, she placed the Pillar here to hide it. Now, the Unknown God wants the Pillar of Conflict for himself, and he will stop at nothing to get it. Whether he succeeds or fails, we will be collateral damage."

He counted off the reasons on his fingers. "The Outsiders, the inability to use more than one attribute of magic, the seal on this world, the creation of Lysithara, the fall of Lysithara, Ashcroft, and everything in between. It was all so the Unknown God could get his hands on the Pillar."

"All the choices you made in your lives, thinking they mattered, have been part of this plan for the Pillar."

Abellona glanced at Evangeline, who clenched her fist.

"Does that include you becoming a demon?"

Damon slowly nodded.

"Yes. Even when he took Ranar, it was all part of his plan, and now it is too late to do anything."

Evangeline was quiet. Then her face darkened before she looked at Damon with a calm expression.

"I wanted to ask you something. Can you answer me honestly... please?"

Damon nodded slowly.

"Then can you look at me first?" she asked before she could say what her question was.

Damon’s lips quivered before he finally looked at her. Her deep golden eyes and hair seemed as though they were made from sunlight. Damon had never felt that looking into someone’s eyes could be so difficult.

Her eyes were just as hard to look at because her mother was dead. His aunt had always been kind to him and Luna, loving them like her own children.

Her death was another scar on his heart.

"Are you still Damon Grey?" That was her question.

Damon didn’t know how to answer.

"I don’t know, but I am still failing at being a basic human being, so I must be Damon Grey."

Evangeline smiled, then nodded.

"I never told you this, but I love you. Now that death is so close, I don’t feel scared to tell you that. It’s funny, isn’t it? I was scared of something so small, but why did it feel larger than life?"

Damon opened his mouth to speak.

"I... I..."

Slap!

A heavy slap turned his head to the side, and he tasted blood.

"If you know you’re Damon Grey, then why are you whining and feeling sorry for yourself?"

Evangeline’s hand was still outstretched.

"Did you forget our party’s motto?"

Damon felt the sting of her slap.

"In the absence of the desirable, let the available be the desirable."

Evangeline stood up.

"Well then, what’s your plan now?"

Damon was still a little stunned.

"Eva... you... I don’t have a... You know, was slapping me really necessary?"

"Yes, it was. That was for lying and everything else." She then placed her hand on her waist. "I don’t think it’s that hopeless. The Pillar is a bargaining chip. If we get it, we can use it to negotiate with the Unknown God or the Goddess."

Then she looked at Damon.

"If we give it to the Unknown God, we could get Ranar back." She paused, biting her lip. "But we could lose Luna forever."

"If we give it to Doom, Ranar would be gone," Damon whispered.

"Or it wouldn’t matter, and the gods would just destroy us either way," Abellona added.

"We can try using the Pillar to fight them, but now that I think about it with a clear head, that might be the dumbest move to make," Damon muttered, scratching his head.

"So what will it be? It’s kind of funny, don’t you think? Whether or not we continue to eke out our pitiful existence depends on the choice we make. Each choice is costly, with no guarantee of success," Evangeline said, resting her hands on her waist.

"Yes, it’s quite sad indeed. We must make a choice before the God of Choice, and right now, he only cares about his Pillar." Damon lowered his gaze. He had a choice to make, but would the Unknown God accept it? Would he even be able to obtain the Pillar of Conflict?

How many more would die?

Who would he choose, his daughter or his sister? What choice was right? If he chose Ranar, it would be like killing Luna. If he chose Luna, then he would be leaving Ranar in the hands of the Unknown God.

If he chose to fight, he would be abandoning both of them for a battle he would still lose.

"One way or the other, the Unknown God will have his Pillar."

And that was a fact.