"Well then! Perhaps sleeping now is the best thing for you. You shouldn't tie yourself down with human emotions if you want to advance in levels without distraction or stumbling. You must put your own interest first above all else, far from the role of the hero or the noble knight, as they say. Otherwise, I fear the title of 'the sacrificed one' will no longer suit you!" Xiao Ping's words and tone were different from usual, as if he were someone else.
He spoke while watching James and that girl clinging to each other, but in truth, he paid them no mind. It was as if he was merely trying to explain the human emotions unfolding before him.
"I want to see the despair and suffering that will appear on the face of that human called James when he loses that girl. Just thinking about that expression of despair makes me want to kill her now... No, I said before: I see her end, and it will be soon!" Xiao Ping spoke in a contradictory and strange manner.
"So, I should just wait for that event to occur! Or perhaps I should enjoy speeding up the pace?" Xiao Ping continued speaking in that strange and unusual way.
But at that moment, he heard a familiar voice from the same body he was speaking with... which made him smile involuntarily.
"Stop saying that!" At this moment, Xiao Ping spoke to himself.
"You woke up this quickly? You always surprise me, human!" The strangely-behaving Xiao Ping spoke to himself.
Ignoring his own comment, Xiao Ping said with an annoyed voice: "I was wondering: why do the side effects multiply with every use of my power? Even though the levels are weak, the reactions have been violent!" Xiao Ping moved his head and looked at the water inside the cup on the table in front of him.
As Xiao Ping scrutinized the water, he saw that the reflection of his right side appeared strangely different from the reflection of his left side.
His right eye was a dark, bloody red, close to the color of James's eyes but seeming more savage and cold. The hair on his right side was long with red streaks in the front. It looked different from the shape of Xiao Ping's left side.
But when Xiao Ping reached out his hand to try and touch the long hair on his right side, he discovered it was still short. So he looked back at the water in the cup and saw the hair on his right side was long, yet in reality, it was the same right side. This could only lead to one conclusion: what had changed was the right side of his soul, not the right side of his body.
Xiao Ping wasn't surprised by the entity's ability to change his body, but he couldn't believe it was capable of changing the form of his soul. So he said quietly, "So it turns out the entity, or the Eternal Sacrifice, is messing with my body. Isn't that a bit curious?"
The entity in Xiao Ping's body suddenly laughed in a devilish manner and said, "Curious? Didn't I tell you this morning... I am the Eternal Sacrifice, and you are me?" The entity clarified, reminding Xiao Ping of what happened this morning!
"Yes, yes! I remember, it's only been a few hours since you told me! Now what do you want from me? And why are you looking forward to the death of that girl over there? Did she do something to anger you?" Xiao Ping fired many questions at the entity speaking from his body.
"What do I want? I don't want anything at all, I just came out to get some fresh air!" The entity replied and continued: "As for that girl, she hasn't done anything to me! But perhaps she did something to you!" The entity's reply in its last words was ambiguous.
"What do you mean she did something to me?! Why don't you clarify?" Xiao Ping picked up the cup with his hand, drank from it, and placed it back on the table... He didn't know that cup had been sitting there since morning... He continued, trying to deny what the entity said: "Do you think I'm stupid? Why would an entity like you need fresh air? Tell me: were you bored and just wanted to come out?" Xiao Ping's guesses backed the entity into a corner.
'Damn it, why does this human have to be so clever?' The entity grumbled internally before saying through Xiao Ping's body: "Alright, you're right. I was bored, so I came out! Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, no! I don't have any problem, for you are me and I am you!" Xiao Ping's reply was sarcastic at the end. But Xiao Ping was thinking about the entity's words regarding that girl doing something to him! So he made sure to remain cautious of her, even if she was his colleague or partner's lover.
'Could it be related to the death of the body's previous owner? That's also a possibility. But what if it's unrelated? The entity wouldn't say such words for no reason.' Xiao Ping was thinking to himself before saying: "Are you going to tell me about the remaining manuscripts, that cube, and the book?" This might seem like a passing question, but it was profound for the entity.
"Human! Don't talk about such dangerous things in public places like this," the entity replied firmly before continuing: "As I told you before... you will know everything in the future, when you possess the necessary strength to protect yourself from other people or entities seeking these things in your possession! So, as I also told you, raise your power as quickly as possible."
"Alright, alright! 'In the future, I'll know' - the same old answer. Nonsense! You talk as if it's easy? Do you know how much I've suffered since just waking up this morning?" Xiao Ping suddenly screamed at himself before saying: "You know nothing because you haven't experienced what I'm experiencing now, so stop talking nonsense!"
"How pathetic! Just because you suffered a few punches from mere villagers, punches from a weak human, and being pushed into level two makes you say this? You're pitiful!" 'Do you know what it cost me to get here, human? You just talk nonsense instead of working hard, but I'm not worried about this in the future after telling him these things that will change his view of the world of power-bearers.' The entity thought to itself and made its decision.
While the entity and Xiao Ping were talking, they were in a separate dimension, but they could hear James and that girl's conversation clearly as if they were in the same room. However, James and that girl couldn't hear their conversation... even if they looked towards Xiao Ping, they would just see him waiting at the table.
This skill could only be cast by people of high levels, but the quality differed from person to person, and from sequence to sequence as well.
Xiao Ping had known this since the moment his foot stepped into this café. He felt as if his body, or more precisely his soul, was gradually changing, and he also felt his soul conflicting with something, but he paid it no mind, thinking it was just side effects of his excessive use of power.
But he didn't think the one causing all this was just the entity. When his soul manifested in the human world, the effect was only on his body, and no one else felt any change or anything abnormal.
So he released everything he had been holding deep within his soul all at once, but he didn't expect such a response, which made him change his view of the entity from admiration to respect.
"You speak the truth, but it's hard for me to accept this. I lived in my previous world alone and isolated in my room, so this is truly difficult for me. I never experienced anything like this in my previous world, but I experienced things like betrayal, anger, and helplessness before fate!" Xiao Ping replied while looking towards James, who was lifting the girl up and saying some flirtatious and apologetic words.
"I already know everything about you, human, for we are two souls in one body and two minds in one head. We seem very similar, but we differ only in mentality and power!" The entity replied coldly before continuing: "I'm leaving now. I can't stay in the human world for long due to restrictions from the higher levels! And I won't be able to talk to you for a while, so try to adapt to this world. But don't trust anyone blindly, for betrayal comes from behind, but sometimes it comes from where you least expect. And don't show gratitude to someone more than necessary, for it will make you weak-willed and easy to manipulate. And don't attach your feelings to anyone in this world, for these feelings could be an obstacle for you or a fatal weakness, or worse. I'm telling you this so you don't regret it like I did in the past... And one last thing: Be sure to act cautiously, for that organization the human you robbed earlier escaped from seems mysterious and has deeper roots than I thought. They've been watching you since you entered through the city gate!"
End of Chapter~To be continued