Chapter 812: An Echo of the Past.
Adonis felt as if he were floating in a space completely separated from existence, or was it his own consciousness piecing together within himself?
In this numbing state where he didn't know what was happening in his confused mind, he began to hear voices.
These voices were in no way comprehensible; their tones were extremely distorted, as if people were talking through a cell phone, but the interference was just too strong.
Suddenly, restlessness settled within his body.
His body felt heavy, and he couldn't move. His body didn't respond to his calls; he couldn't even feel his body. Panic began to grow within Adonis, and questions started to arise.
"Where am I? Is this a dream?" Such thoughts were immediately dismissed. He didn't dream, and when he did, it was about future events that would happen.
Perhaps this was one of those future events? But the feeling was entirely different, and instinctively, he felt that this answer was incorrect.
In these hazy thoughts, where the strange voice began to grow louder and more indecipherable, a frightening thought passed through his mind.
"...Has Persephone's curse progressed even further than I expected?" He could easily imagine himself lying in bed in a vegetative state, unable to move or do anything. He could very well see himself just... existing.
Could these voices be the voices of his family or even his wife, but he couldn't understand them because his body was too debilitated.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, terror filled his heart as he tried to move more intensely, he tried to struggle, he tried to do SOMETHING!
Yet... still, he couldn't do anything.
He didn't know how long it took or even if any time had passed, but at some point, these indecipherable voices began to become understandable.
"Hmm, I think it's working now." He heard a familiar yet strange voice.
"...I can't believe it... It really works..."
"Agnes?" He perked up upon hearing his wife's voice.
"Humph, of course, it would work. I told you it would, didn't I?"
"He looks just like my father... Even his debilitated appearance is exactly how I remember it... Although he has these extra features..."
"Violet?" A sense of calm washed over him as he heard Violet's voice.
"As I said, he's just an echo from the past. He shouldn't even be existing here; I'm the one supporting his existence."
"Just... Is this really... working? B-But."
"...Aphrodite?" This time Adonis felt strange. What was this woman doing here?
"My god, Darling. Do you understand what you've just done?" Aphrodite exclaimed in shock.
"This has never been done before! You've literally hacked existence!"
"Hey, using the adjective 'hacked' is an exaggeration; I did everything correctly according to the programming done by the primordial beings. Don't think hacking existence is that easy, Aphrodite."
"STILL! You brought a record of something that only exists within the Akashic Records! I've never heard of anyone doing this before! I never even thought it was possible."
"...Oh? Weren't you confident in your husband?"
"W-Well, I was! I was, but... this is something not even the gods can do..." Aphrodite stopped speaking as Victor gently caressed her cheek.
"Gods...?" Victor's eyes gleamed. "This isn't about being a god or not, My dear. It's about competence. Gods have been around since the true beginning of this planet, but tell me... Even with such a long lifespan, have they sought to evolve? Have they sought to become stronger? To understand themselves and everything around them better?"
"No, they haven't. Instead, they'd rather waste millions of years in debauchery and foolish wars among themselves."
Aphrodite breathed heavily as she felt the weight of Victor's gaze and existence upon her; she bit her lip and felt her body tremble at his touch.
"I refuse to call these beings gods. They're not gods. They're a bunch of incompetents." Victor stepped away from Aphrodite.
Aphrodite took a deep breath and controlled her intense feelings; this wasn't the time or place to let her more mischievous side act.
"...B-But, you have to understand that not all of us have these qualities that help you understand this world, Darling."
In response to this question, Victor simply said, "Weren't you born strong with an elevated divine sense?"
"Yes."
"Senses that allow you to 'see' and understand the 'truth'?"
"..."
"Tell me, My Dear. You've existed since the dawn of time. Have you ever tried or thought about improving this 'vision'?"
"...Well... No." Aphrodite felt somewhat embarrassed now. It was only recently that she started seeking ways to better herself. Before that, she just enjoyed herself and didn't care much about anything else.
"That's the difference... You were born with that vision, you were born strong. Therefore, to you, it's nothing; because of that, most gods don't even want to explore their own potential."
"If they explored their potential, I fear there would be more beings like Kali out there who would be close to ascending to become entities above the system. I'm sure she can see the system even more clearly than I can, and she's not a Dragon Progenitor or anything like that. She's a goddess, just like you and the rest of the pantheon."
"...Fine... Fine! I understand. Most gods are just arrogant beings with childish attitudes who like to use their power, okay? I get it." Aphrodite huffed.
"Is this all I've had throughout my life?" She muttered to herself in a low voice.
Victor smiled gently as he saw Aphrodite's pout and heard what she said. He gently stroked her head and said,
"You don't need to be upset. At least you awakened much earlier than most gods and became a great woman."
"Darling..."
Victor kissed Aphrodite's forehead. "Even today, most gods just live in debauchery without caring about anything or trying to become stronger. You're no longer confined by that foolish mindset, my goddess of love."
While listening to the discussion, Adonis's senses slowly began to return, but he couldn't help but wonder who this man was that the arrogant goddess of beauty herself was utterly enamored with. Even though he wasn't seeing anything, only hearing the voices, he could clearly detect the passionate and obsessed tone of the goddess.
"Adonis..." A voice murmured, and despite speaking very softly, Adonis heard and immediately recognized it.
Persephone... Persephone!?
Adonis opened his eyes and sat up. For a moment, his vision wavered, but he didn't mind; he was focused on getting up to prevent something from happening...
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, you've just woken up. Regain your senses first."
"Huh?" Adonis looked to the side and saw two pairs of violet-crimson eyes. For some reason, that gaze sent terror through his entire being.
"Hmm... now that I look closely, I'm more handsome than he is."
"That's because you're a dragon, an existence close to perfection. Not to mention, you have all my blessings, and you've undergone various evolutions over time," Aphrodite spoke.
'Dragon? He's a dragon!?'
"Try to get used to your surroundings," the man said as he let go.
Adonis nodded, looked around, and saw his daughter, his wife, Persephone, Aphrodite, and a hooded stranger. He was in an even stranger place, where hundreds of souls were floating around.
"What's going on...?" Adonis asked.
"First, tell me. Who are you?" The tall man, who appeared to be a dragon, spoke.
"Adonis Snow."
'... Why can't I reject his words?!' He panicked. He felt like he should obey 'his father', a strange feeling for someone he had just met... 'Wait, don't I already know him?' He felt like he did, but his mind was confused.
"Tell me what you were doing yesterday."
"I was talking to Agnes and thinking about what to do about my imminent death. I was about to ask for help from the new Count Vampire, Victor Alucard, who is also a Progenitor of vampires."
Violet and Agnes exchanged glances and nodded. They realized that this was Adonis from a few days before he merged with Victor. It seems that everything was a success.
"Count Vampire... How nostalgic. It's been a while since I was called that." Victor chuckled.
Adonis widened his eyes when he heard what the man said:
"Wait... You are... Victor?"
"Yeah. It seems it was a success, huh. Unexpected."
"...Unexpected..." Three women spoke simultaneously.
Adonis squirmed as he heard the sickly tone from Violet, Agnes, and Aphrodite.
"You said you were sure, Victor!" Aphrodite growled.
"I mean, I was sure... But I was venturing into unknown territory here, you know? I had the theory in mind, but succeeding in that theory is a whole different story."
"Okay, no more hacking creation for a while! You're Banned!"
"Mm, I didn't intend to do that either. It's quite tiring, and even with my dragon brain, I have a headache." Victor touched his forehead.
"That headache is because your soul suffered the backlash from accessing the system, Victor." Roxanne appeared next to Victor.
"Is he in danger, Roxanne?" Violet asked.
"He's fine, but I recommend he doesn't do it again. If it weren't for him being the progenitor, a fusion of a dragon and a vampire, if it weren't for Ruler and the god of death being around, if it weren't for his soul connections, he would have suffered even more backlash or even been erased."
"Toying with the system, even for a few seconds, is dangerous, and he did it for quite some time."
"The system is the work of the primordial beings, and only they can command it at will without suffering any repercussions."
"...If you knew that, why didn't you stop him!?" Agnes asked.
"He wouldn't have stopped, you know that. And you can't demand anything from me. After all, you made him do it." Roxanne's eyes glowed dangerously, clearly very upset with Agnes now.
Agnes shrank back under Roxanne's accusatory tone. Before she could say anything, they heard Victor's heavy voice.
"Enough." Victor's heavy voice reverberated around.
The two women trembled and looked at Victor.
"...I apologize, Darling."
"That apology should not be directed at me."
Roxanne looked at Agnes as the red eyes of the World Tree glowed softly.
"...I apologize, Agnes."
Seeing Agnes's expression, Victor said, "Wipe that expression off your face. As I've said, I knew what I was doing, and don't worry too much about Roxanne. Just talk to her later, okay? She'll be upset for a few days, but she'll reappear soon."
"Yes..." Agnes nodded.
"Now, let's deal with this." Victor looked at Adonis.
"...How much time have I lost, Victor?" Adonis asked.
"Oh?" Victor raised a surprised eyebrow and then smiled. "Of course, you'll understand... In fact, it would be obvious that you'd understand. After all, you're not slow."
"Look at yourself, Adonis," Victor said.
Adonis looked at his body and saw that he was in a transparent state.
"This is..."
"Much more complicated than you're assuming," Adonis opened his eyes a little, giving a look that said, how do you know my thoughts?
"I know how you think, Adonis," Victor laughed, then touched Adonis's head.
In the next moment, hundreds of memories flowed into Adonis's mind, a complete overview of everything he had missed. Of course, Victor left out the more 'intimate' parts. He only presented the overall picture up to the current situation.
A few seconds later, Adonis blinked then his confused look disappeared, replaced by an incredulous expression. "You've come a long way, Count Vampire... No, Blood Dragon Progenitor."
"Indeed, Adonis. Indeed," Victor nodded.
Adonis looked at himself and said, "An echo of the past, huh."
"Much like watching a video recording from many years ago..." Victor smiled. "Your current 'self' is operating within my soul along with dozens of thousands of other beings."
"...Seriously, you're insane. Only you would mess with creation to help your wives." He shook his head incredulously.
Victor just laughed and acted as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Honestly, it makes me a little jealous. If I were a woman..."
Victor's, Agnes's, and Violet's faces twitched a bit.
Knowing that Adonis was Greek and you could expect anything from a Greek, Victor just said,
"... Okay... This is getting weird, even for me. I'll go sit in the corner like a good dragon."
"Thanatos, let's play Uno."
"...Are you serious?" Thanatos asked.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Victor said, creating a deck and showing it to Thanatos.
"...Fine... Just so you know, I've never lost at Uno."
"Heh~. Rejoice, god of death. Today, you'll experience your first defeat."
"We'll see."
Thanatos and Victor began to move away, leaving Violet, Persephone, and Agnes behind.
Surprisingly, Aphrodite followed Victor.
"Oh? Aren't you going to talk to him?"
"I let him go a long time ago, Vic. My love is with you, not someone from the past."
"Hmm~, always earning brownie points, huh? I like it."
"Fufufu~"
"Oh, I forgot to mention something." Victor looked at the group in the distance. "Just a reminder, you have 2 hours. After that, you'll return to the Akashic Records." He spoke.
Agnes, Violet, and Persephone just nodded.