THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 703: Footsteps in a Fallen Kingdom (1)

– Frey Starlight’s POV –

Could this truly be... Nameless?

That single inquiry dominated my thoughts as I stood before him within the obsidian void realm residing inside me.

The entity across from me appeared to be a mere manifestation...

A construct synthesized from countless shards of combat arts, supernatural techniques, and absolute power.

He was a being forged from nothingness, born from the limitless data archived within the mask.

A monster devoid of a genuine "self," lacking both personality and a distinct identity.

And yet... that very monster had somehow been altered by my own history...

My agony, my tribulations, and my emotions...

Every bit of it had merged into him, distilling into the hollow template he once represented.

The man standing there seemed like nothing more than a common figure obscured by a black steel mask.

But that appearance was a deception.

The authentic Nameless...

The dread king whose ancient depictions and fractured memories I had once glimpsed—

Was nothing like this person.

He had been a heartless beast wearing a human skin,

A creature that annihilated entire civilizations to achieve his ends,

A disaster that even the demons held in terror.

What I faced now was merely a silhouette, a defective remnant.

The reality was blatant:

I was still missing two vital components of the Self-Puzzle.

Though I possessed the mask, the weapon and the armor remained out of reach.

Without those pieces, Nameless would stay broken...

Languishing in this partial existence,

Struggling to comprehend sentiments he was never designed to possess.

I attempted to question why he was fixated on the laws of life and death...

How he had acquired his celestial powers...

Why the future was visible to him...

And why his entire life was spent attempting to surpass mortality.

Was it due to the words Odin spoke to him?

It seemed doubtful.

The obsession held by Nameless had taken root long before that primordial meeting.

However, Nameless provided no explanations.

He simply didn't have them.

Not while he remained in this fractured state.

"You are truly as imprisoned by the dark as I am,"

I whispered.

"Who could have guessed a king of your stature would end up so... miserable?"

The truth was grim.

Much like myself, Nameless was a tool caught in German’s web...

And ensnared by the plots of others we had yet to identify.

"I am trapped in this mess, and so are you," I remarked.

"And yet you wish to withdraw? Is that honestly your desire?"

I made one final effort, wishing he would seize control of my body once more.

Even in his broken state, Nameless possessed far more strength than I could ever hope to wield right now.

But he declined me yet again.

"I have no interest in taking your physical form," he uttered softly.

"Your roots... have burrowed too deep into my being."

His tone was frigid and unwavering...

Yet I grasped the underlying message.

Nameless was akin to a clean slate stained by the ink of my tragic life.

He was afraid that merging further would transform him into me...

That instead of consuming me, he would become me.

"Very well... so I am on my own once more?"

I let out a frustrated sigh.

For the moment, I cast aside the complications regarding Audrey, Agaroth, and Odin.

There was nothing I could do about them.

I possessed neither the Cultivation nor the insight required.

"The only thing that matters is what is happening here, on Earth."

Wesker remained my foe.

And protecting the people I cared for was my priority.

"Ada..."

Her name escaped my lips as my resolve hardened.

Ada and Carmen...

Both of their names continued to pulse with a red light on the system screen.

I had squandered enough time.

As that thought crossed my mind, Nameless finally looked up.

His violet eyes shined with that familiar, heavy, and suffocating light.

"I shall assist you," he declared.

I stood still.

"What did you say?"

He didn't say it again.

He was aware that I had heard him.

"You'll help me? To save Ada?"

He gave a simple affirmation:

"Correct."

"Why?"

A strange, dense heat filled my chest.

Nameless—the horror that even demons dreaded—

Was volunteering his aid.

It was an absurd twist of fate.

It felt nearly hallucinatory.

Nameless paused before responding.

Then, finally:

"I am weary of watching you suffer defeat at the hands of demons," he stated.

"Even while you possess a fragment of my own power."

He stood up from his modest chair.

"I will not possess your body.

However, I can direct you...

And instruct you in the proper way to wage war."

For a brief interval, I was speechless.

Nameless was offering his support...

Because he no longer wished to witness my suffering.

Me.

The insignificant human he had once viewed as nothing but a container.

A laugh nearly broke from me.

Then I realized the truth...

That ridiculous, almost innocent epiphany.

Nameless had been impacted by my past,

My trials,

And... my feelings.

He tasted my agony.

He did not want Ada to come to harm.

He did not want me to shatter.

It was idealistic.

It was foolish.

But I recognized its sincerity.

And I required his strength.

"Then let us proceed," I said with conviction.

"We are going to save Ada."

Nameless gave a nod.

A second later, the dark void crumbled around me,

And I opened my eyes back in the physical world.

A vibrant violet light erupted from my pupils—

The exact shade that Nameless commanded.

I remained within the Shadow Sect.

Aside from the projection of Audrey, I had not run into anyone else.

They would undoubtedly notice my absence before long.

I moved at once, without bothering to say goodbye.

Conversation could wait for another time.

Right now...

Ada was waiting for me.

At the very least, I had a vague sense of her location.

She was still within the Empire... far off, behind its massive walls.

Getting there would be a long journey, but for the first time... I wasn't anxious.

"My spatial techniques permit me to manifest anywhere in this realm.

You cannot achieve this yet, given your current Cultivation level...

But warping into the Empire and back will not be a challenge for you."

The voice of Nameless resonated serenely within my mind.

So this was the help he had promised.

To be honest, communicating with him this way felt bizarre...

Unsettling, even...

But I had to grow accustomed to it if I intended to utilize his mentorship to its fullest.

"Then let's go..."

I readied myself to teleport directly into the Empire to assess the situation personally...

But a recognizable aura halted me.

A person I knew was nearby.

"Departing so soon after waking... without even a single word?"

A familiar figure emerged from the darkness, having trailed me from the temple.

"Sno..."

Snow Lionheart...

The friend whose radiance served as the counterweight to my shadow.

"I apologize," I said, "but I must leave.

There is someone I have to rescue... regardless of the price."

"It is your sister, isn't it?"

Snow answered instantly, proving he already grasped the entire situation.

I gave a nod.

"And? You're just going to walk away?

Leave and turn your back on everything?"

His eyes narrowed... not out of malice, but with a silent, aching sense of letdown.

I understood the circumstances perfectly.

The remnants of humanity were divided, and the conflict was spiraling out of control...

Our foe was the Fourth Upper Demon.

We possessed barely enough power to survive, much less claim victory.

But even so...

"What do you want from me?

To remain here and play the role of a leader?

To leave my sister in enemy hands until she perishes far from me?"

I flashed a hollow smile...

Refusing to even consider the alternative.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that.

I am neither a commander nor a savior.

To me, Ada’s existence alone is worth more than every human in this place.

If a choice must be made...

Then I'm sorry, but that choice was made a long time ago."

That was the simple truth.

Ada would always be my highest priority.

She was my sole surviving family...

The one person who tied my old world to this new one.

She was the secret anchor that preserved my sanity.

Losing her... was a burden I could never survive.

So I would go to her...

Or I would fall in the attempt.