Chapter 58: Shadows of the Soul

Bernell’s Perspective

I wanted to follow Aileen—or rather, Kongyun—but even more, I wished she wouldn’t hear this conversation.

With the others gone, only I remained with two enigmatic gods.

Here we go again. Like that bird god, they’ll say something strange.

“What do you think, my friend?” Yakmyeongdosa asked Yama.

“…”

“A demigod bearing the seed of an evil god…” Yama replied.

The same old story.

“If that spot grows, you’ll become an evil god.”

I never want to harm Aileen—Kongyun. But they said my human heart is the problem.

I exist by her side because of my wish.

“Your wish perfects you as a god. It’s your ‘reason for being.’”

My wish makes me a god, but if it twists, I’ll become an evil god—an imperfect one.

“I already know about the spot in my soul and what makes it grow. It’s my human heart, isn’t it?”

Yakmyeongdosa’s soft smile, warm with Kongyun, hardened. That’s his true face.

I don’t see gods as living beings like us—just forms they wear.

“Good that you know,” he said. “What’s the wish that sustains you?”

His tone was different from how he spoke to Kongyun—tinged with faint hostility.

It’s mild now, but gods are fickle. They could turn on me.

Kind Kongyun trusts them too much. She needs to realize we’re mere insects to them.

If I make an enemy of a god, can I protect her?

“My wish is to stay by my precious sister, Aileen, and protect her.”

Then it hit—a wave of nausea, my strength draining. I barely knelt to avoid collapsing.

“Cough… why’s this happening?”

My chest tightened, my head spun—a sickening feeling, like my existence was being denied.

“Your taint is stirring,” Yakmyeongdosa said. “Is your wish true?”

“Are you saying it’s not?”

“Are you twisting your wish? What do you truly desire?”

They no longer felt like beings. It was as if the wind, the ground, the sky—the entire world—was questioning me.

Gods are terrifying.

“What wish sustains you?” he pressed.

“I already said! I want to protect Aileen—”

My thoughts of Aileen shattered like glass. Fragments filled my mind: silver-haired Aileen, golden-eyed Aileen, Aileen who wanted to be a knight like me…

Among them, one shard stood out—a different Aileen.

Short black hair, dark eyes, healthy… not Aileen.

“I was born with a name. I’m Kongyun.”

Not Aileen… Kongyun.

Why, then, despite her not being my sister, do I want to stay by her side, help her, protect her?

For my wish to hold, she must be my sister.

“If she’s not my sister, there’s no reason for me to stay. I’d cease to exist…”

Without the role of her protective brother…

“Is it because I lack justification?”

“…!”

My vision blackened, and searing pain stabbed my chest. My mind screamed in agony.

I didn’t want to know, didn’t want to realize.

We’re connected by a fragile thread, held only by my claim of siblinghood. If she lets go, it’s over.

“You’re from entirely different dimensions. There’s not a single point of connection between you and Kongyun—not even in the dust of time!”

I know! But I don’t want to admit it.

I exist by her side because of my wish. Because we’re siblings.

If not, I have no reason to stay. Without that pretense, our bond could shatter. Our connection exists only because, for a fleeting moment, she was my sister in a lie.

“Is my wish… wrong?”

“Mortals cling to complex emotions,” Yakmyeongdosa said. “It makes their lives vibrant.”

The pain didn’t fade, like the wounds that nearly killed me, as if a beast’s claws pierced me again. I’m still on that battlefield.

Maybe I never left. Maybe this is all a dream.

I need to wake up.

Kongyun’s Perspective

“About the rule not to touch anything…” I said, about to dig with Blue Child.

Then manager mode activated unprompted.

Employee “Bernell Abelgart” Alignment Shift Detected

Alignment: Good 90% / Evil 10%

I nearly swallowed the Heavenly Sound Pill in shock.

“What’s going on?”

Bernell’s evil alignment was 6% before we left the café. What happened with Yakmyeongdosa and Yama to spike it by 4%? A bad feeling crept in.

“Hold on! Something’s wrong over there!”

I sprinted back before Blue Child could respond.

Far off, I saw Bernell collapsed, with the two gods before him. I shouted, “Sorry! Did my employee do something—”

A chill ran through me. Bernell’s aura was different as he rose.

“Bernell!”

His outfit shifted—café uniform to knight’s armor, a longsword in hand, one he often wore at the mansion.

If he attacked the gods, we’d be done for. Crossing them would leave no future.

“Bernell! Are you crazy?! What are you doing?!”

“You said I have the power to ward off evil,” he replied.

Gulp. I’d hoped the candy would stay put while I shouted, but it slid down my throat as Bernell raised his sword.

“Cough, cough!”

Even its small size hurt.

“If so, can I stab the evil within me to perfect my wish?”

Eeee—

Swallowing the pill triggered a piercing tinnitus. A cacophony of sounds overwhelmed me.

As Bernell aimed his sword at his chest, my vision spun.

“…”

I collapsed, covering my ears. The noise persisted—every sound in existence, down to rolling dirt grains, driving me mad. It was torture.

My ears ached, my head felt like it’d burst, and tears streamed down my hot cheeks.

Snap!

A finger snap silenced the noise.

“You shouldn’t act recklessly,” Blue Child said. “Didn’t Master warn not to swallow the pill?”

“Mama!” Pig-Bird’s white wings covered my hands over my ears.

“Mama! Mama, you okay? Mama, hurt?”

“The sounds…” My mind was still reeling.

“The Heavenly Sound Pill lets you hear all existence,” Blue Child explained. “Licking it is fine, but swallowing it unleashes its full effect. Your mortal body can’t handle it.”

“…”

“I’ve dulled your hearing, but I can’t fully block Master’s elixir. You’ll need his help.”

“What about Bernell…”

I wiped my tear-streaked face on Pig-Bird’s feathers and looked at him.

Yama’s smoky tendrils held Bernell’s sword arm, averting disaster.

Yakmyeongdosa smiled softly, beckoning me over.

“You said not to swallow… will I get in trouble?”

“Master pities and cherishes mortals. He won’t scold you harshly.”

Clutching Pig-Bird’s wings, I staggered to Yakmyeongdosa. The tinnitus returned faintly as Blue Child’s aid faded.

“I’m sorry. I swallowed the Heavenly Sound Pill. And Bernell…”

“Mortals create countless events in their short lives,” Yakmyeongdosa said. “That’s why they’re fascinating and pitiable. No scolding—come here.”

He must’ve heard my talk with Blue Child.

Approaching, I checked Bernell.

“…!”

In the chaos, I hadn’t noticed—his blond hair was now indigo, his green eyes red, like a color inversion.