The Heart System Chapter 834

"They’re yours, Evan," she said. "Do you want me to give you some pointers? Use Time Stop. Get some Viagra or unlock more things in the Shop. Fuck as many women as you can while Time Stop is active."

"That’s rape, Mana."

"You are above humans," she said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at her warm, fake smile. "You are my subject. I won’t let you be treated like this. My reputation is on the line."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Hypnotize Ivy. Fuck her. Or trick her, I don’t care. And this little talk you’re planning to have? Don’t. They should be your toys, nothing more. Holes to put your dick into so you can become more powerful, with pleasure as a bonus. Nothing more."

"They’re not pets, Mana."

"They are."

She put her knee against my crotch and pushed forward.

"You can do anything you want. Anything. And you limit yourself with these girls? You LET Ivy talk to you like that?"

"I can’t force them," I said, keeping myself calm.

"Miko’s subject is a menace. He uses Time Stop, fucks any woman he can find, and racks up the points. Her subject is getting closer to us. Dangerously close."

"Find yourself a new subject," I said.

"You..."

"Silk," I cut in. "I was her subject, wasn’t I?"

Her eyes opened wide.

"But something happened, and I had my memory erased. Everyone who knew me had their memories erased, too."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"The dungeon. The girl who works there slipped up," I said, pushing her leg away with both hands. "Tell me. Was I?"

She took a step back, then nodded. "Yes. Subject of Silk."

"What happened to me?"

"You died."

I stared at her. I had died?

"How?" I asked. "When?"

"Cora," she replied. "She killed you out of pure jealousy. She killed her sister Esme, too. Silk couldn’t take it. She was the strongest among us, so she spent all of her power to restore you and reverse time. She reversed the time back to when she first met you. You went back, and everything went back with you."

"I..."

"Then we killed her." She smirked. A frightening smile appeared on her face, and for a moment, she looked completely different. "We killed Silk. Then I took her powers. Everyone took her powers."

"I don’t understand. I... I died?"

"I’ve talked more than I should have." She straightened up, her fake smile returning. "We need to win this race, so you better step up your game, Evan."

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Evan Marlowe [Level 23]

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EXP: 25000/42490

[██████░░░]

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Current Credits: 8300c

Current SC: 100

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"Rewards?" I asked, looking at the UI. "I don’t want rewards. I need answers!"

The elevator doors closed just as I reached toward her. A few seconds later, they opened again. She was gone. Fuck.

I knew it. Silk.

I knew I was her subject. Somewhere deep inside, when I had seen that first image of her, the umbrella girl, something about her had felt familiar. It was like I had known her my entire life, even though I didn’t know her face or her name.

"I died," I muttered. "Cora killed me out of jealousy? She... I know she’s psychotic, but shit."

I stepped outside and exhaled.

I had to deal with Cora. If I had really died because of her once, I doubted Mana would bring me back again. I was just a toy to her. If I died, she could simply find another subject or steal one of the other goddesses’ subjects, just like she had done with Dierella.

"First things first," I muttered. "I need to make sure it’s true."

I walked toward the door, which was still open since Ivy hadn’t bothered to close it, and stepped inside. Good, the girls were still gathered around the table. Eleanor, Esme, and Kayla were there as well.

I just had to get this off my chest.

"Hey," I said, closing the door behind me. "I just need to talk to all of you. Please, just stay there and..."

"No, Evan," Tessa said, getting up and crossing her arms. "We’re not here because you think we owe you anything. And we don’t say no to you because we feel forced. We’re here because this kind of life is fun."

"Huh?" I asked, stopping on my way to the dinner table.

"Yeah, you already had this talk with us," Nala said. "I’m not here just because of you, Evan. I like Jasmine. Kim. Unfortunately, Tessa, too. And so on."

"Oi, you bastard," Tessa said.

"So, no," Kim added. "Stop being such an idiot and sit at the table. The dinner is getting cold."

"I... okay?" I asked, not knowing what to do. "I’ll, uh... I’ll just wash my hands."

"I’ll, I’ll, I’ll," Tessa teased. "Get out of here, you baby."

Well, this went better than I expected.

⟁ ⟁ ⟁

So Cora killed me? Really?

Was Mana lying?

No. No, that actually made sense. The shop owner in the dungeon had slipped up when she told me about my personal record. That meant I had been there before, back when I was Silk’s subject.

Was Silk the most powerful goddess? She had to be, considering the way Mana had talked about her. And I had died back then, only to be sent back in time because Silk used her power to restore me. She had wasted the majority of her power on me, and once she was vulnerable, the others killed her.

Bastards.

Dierella, Karamine, Mana, and the others. Why?

Why kill Silk?

Was she really that powerful? Did the others want her powers badly enough to kill her for them?

I had to learn more about it, but how? Those goddesses appeared and disappeared whenever they wanted, and I had no idea where to even begin looking for answers.

"Cora," I muttered. "She killed me. She fucking killed me."

I always knew she was a strange one, but going that far? She had to be fucking insane. Killing me because she got jealous was one thing, but she had killed her own sister, too.

Esme was innocent.

But fuck, this was complicated.

"Your hair is long," Kayla said. "You should either tie it up or cut it."

I shrugged. "Eh, too lazy for both."