In the end, you were the one who lost..."
In a void of space dotted with golden particles, a single throne stood at the center.
Right now, it was empty, with a figure having slid off to its foot, while another stood before the one on the ground.
Surprisingly, the two figures looked identical in both shape and appearance.
Both resembled a single person: Morgaine, but even at that, it wasn’t difficult to tell who was who.
The Morgaine who had slipped from the throne had both hands, now golden claws, clutching at her head.
Her body spasmed from shock, her teeth tightly gritted.
’You’re nothing!’
The words echoed endlessly in her mind, making her clench her jaw harder.
He was someone she had always looked down on.
From the very first moment she had learned his name, she had despised him.
For one with a bloodline as pure as Morgaine’s, a man like that could never have deserved her.
He had thought him a leech, someone using Morgaine’s status as a leech to better himself.
And when she finally decided to face him, to put him in his place and remind him that he was undeserving, she had been brutally defeated.
She had learned he was younger; yet, even after fully maximizing Morgaine’s cultivation potential, she was still crushed.
The truth of that led him to another truth which she refused to accept.
"I’ll fight him... once more," she said, crawling to her knees, trying to sit on the throne, only for it to burst out a golden light that flung her away from it.
She was barely caught by Morgaine, who said to her.
"Have you forgotten that the Throne only accepts the strongest? You’re too weak now, and undeserving of it," She reminded, releasing her hold on her, before stepping toward the throne.
But the hem of her golden gown was grabbed, forcing her to turn her head.
"I lost because of your weak vessel. If I had my real body... I would have won!"
Morgaine yanked her gown free and continued forward, finally taking her seat on the throne.
The second she did, golden motes of light dispersed from the throne, diffusing into her.
She exhaled deeply.
"Finally."
The Elders had once claimed that the Morgaine before her existed only as an echo, there to guide her, to maximize her cultivation speed.
It seemed true at first, until things quickly turned awry.
The stronger the other Morgaine grew, the pickier the throne became.
No matter how many times she tried to reclaim it, she was always rejected, thrown off mercilessly.
That had kept her away from her own body, leaving her passive, only able to watch what the other did with what was hers.
But now, she could finally take control once more.
"Even if you lost because my body was weak," she said calmly, "you have to admit he has more potential for growth than either of our bodies could ever achieve."
"Tch."
"You only hated him because, unlike us, he isn’t well-known, and doesn’t wear a crown of potential over his head."
"If he were one of the True Angelic Princes or Princesses of the Royal Houses, you’d have no issue with his presence," she muttered, her expression unchanged.
She had long observed this echo of hers and now understood its thoughts and actions.
It wasn’t men that she hated, as she had once believed; it was the weak she despised.
And now, even though Ryuk had defeated her, she still hated him.
The reason was simple:
All her life, this and the previous, she had been placed on a high pedestal due to her potential.
She had most of the world’s respect and pleased eyes due to an overglorified number percentage.
Now meeting with Ryuk, who looked ordinary, yet plausibly more talented than her, she refuses to believe.
Morgiaine didn’t try to comfort her at all.
No. She deserved this much pain after purposely keeping her away from what was rightfully hers.
Her body began to integrate better into the throne, her head dropping as her eyes closed.
Runic lines burned across her skin, the phantom of a body appearing in the space behind the throne.
Golden chains streaked with runes bound her to the phantom.
"Tch. I will grow stronger and put him in his place soon," the other Morgaine said, crossing her legs as she began channeling energy within the soul space to heal her injured self.
________
Silence reigned for a long while, but slowly,
Slowly, Morgaine felt familiar sensations return.
Sound came first, the gentle breathing of someone. Then came touch, hands on her arms.
Her fingers twitched as she regained control, and soon she could move her eyelids, slowly forcing them open.
Her eyes adapted quickly, revealing a man pausing mid-step, staring at her, lips opening and closing in shock.
"Father," she whispered, enough to wake the one sleeping close to her.
"Morgaine?" Mrs. Lynia called out, her brows furrowing with both relief and suspicion.
How could they be sure she was the one?
"Mom, can you get your hands off me already?" Morgaine said.
The words instantly brought tears to Mrs. Lynia’s eyes, as she leapt onto her daughter’s chest.
"It’s really you."
Those harsh words—
They were the same ones she had always received from her when she was the Half-Fallen, only changing after Ryuk’s arrival.
There was no other proof needed.
"You... you made me so worried," she wept with joy.
Their embrace lasted nearly a minute, only growing tighter, until finally Mrs. Lynia pulled away.
But not without a—
PAAAH!
The sharp sound of a slap rang through the room as Morgaine held her burning cheek.
"Mom!" she screamed, watching Mrs. Lynia scoff as she sat back down, regaining her dignified aura.
"You deserve it," she said unapologetically, closing her eyes.
But when she opened them again, Morgaine was no longer on the bed.
She turned her head and found her in her husbands’s arms, hugging him tightly.
"I’m just glad you’re okay."