Chapter 1944 One in the Same
"Why did you call me here?" Lilith said through gritted teeth. "This place is incredibly dangerous. If any of those beasts start to find us more interesting than their opponents, we're dead."
Junior smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you, don't worry… As for why I called you here… It's to discuss a few things."
Lilith's brow furrowed. This was the first time Junior had taken such a serious tone with her.
They had been 'married' for more than half a decade now, yet they could hardly be called husband and wife. They were more like bully and victim. Plus, considering marriage in the martial world was sealed by fusing two souls as one, they weren't even really husband and wife, they were only so in name.
Still, in all this time, not once had Junior ever taken such a tone with her, not even when she vented all of her rage on him.
"What is it?" Her voice became decidedly weaker, unbeknownst to herself.
For some reason, Lilith worried that Junior would get rid of her, even divorcing her. Some part of her felt that she deserved it, it wasn't as though she had been a good wife. Not only did she not support Junior as a wife should, she brought his quality of life down.
However, the sudden thought made her realize that she felt an inexplicable attachment to Junior.
It was then she thought of something… If it was someone other than Junior, would she be able to sneer at him for being a eunuch? Or would she be breathing a sigh of relief that he never tried to bed her?
What was it about Junior? Was it because he was related to that man that she felt more comfortable with that idea…? That she didn't feel the same disgust she had toward Sokzac? Just what was it…?
"It's about time I tell you the truth." Junior turned away from Lilith as though he couldn't bear to see her at the moment.
"I am not Dyon's son. He and I are one in the same. He is I, and I am him. I am a clone created by his soul and infused into the skeleton of one who once wielded the Death God Constitution."
Lilith stood frozen in the dark red fog of Chaos Universe. It was as though she had been struck by a lightning bolt.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!"
Lilith's shock was immediately replaced with fury. Did that man really have to go this far? To torture and tear her emotions apart as though they meant nothing to him?
Ha. To think all of this time she thought she was grasping her own destiny, only to find out that she was playing into the palm of his hands this whole time.
Lilith began to laugh, an uncontrollable stream of tears falling from her cheeks.
"This is really what you think of me? Even after all of this time, I've just fallen for yet another one of your schemes? What is the goal this time, to cripple my Devil Quadrants entirely?
"I guess I should be glad that you think I have so much worth to my father. But you'd be wrong. Your schemes won't work this time."
Junior sighed. "You're misunderstanding."
"JUST WHAT AM I MISUNDERSTANDING?! YOU BASTARD!"
Lilith's fury erupted, countless sword lights tore out from her body, sheering apart the asteroids randomly floating about and furiously colliding with Junior's body.
She seemed to really be hell bent on killing Junior because she unleashed her everything. Power the likes of which maybe only middle dao experts could match rained down from her delicate frame, but the tears that fell from her cheeks told a different story… one that racked her with endless pain and misery.
Junior's back was ravaged by Lilith's sword lights. Though he didn't move even an inch, his back had become a bloody mess of mangled flesh and blood, flooding his grey robes with a crimson color.
He didn't say a word, nor did he retaliate. Maybe others would have died from this assault, but his death comprehension was too deep. Even if he sunk further toward death, he'd be able to protect his lifeforce. His Death God Body made sure of that.
Eventually, Lilith tired. Her slender shoulders ached and her tears ran dry, turning into streaks of eerie salts that marred her delicate, soft cheeks.
Seeing that she had fallen silent, Junior slowly began to speak.
"… Even my main body does not understand the extent to which I am him… To now, he truly treats me as a separate man, as a brother and even as a son. This is the truth."
Lilith's brows twitched with anger, but her qi had run dry. Even if she wanted to attack again, she didn't have the strength. As for how she was still floating in this condition, this 'considerate' bastard had drawn a defensive array below her feet and even shielded her from the elements.
If it was up to her, she would leave without listening to these blithering excuses, but she no longer had the strength to. Every word out of Junior's mouth sounded ridiculous to her.
How could the creator of a clone not know something so fundamental? What kind of clone owner thought of their clone as a separate entity? What the hell kind of excuses were these?
"… The path that I must walk is a difficult one. However, if I want to reach the pinnacle of the world and ensure that my loved ones can remain by my side… I must walk it.
"These loved ones… They include you… Lilith."
Lilith trembled at these words, but she simply couldn't make heads or tails of them. If the words of his clone were true, why would his main body be so cruel to her?
Junior chuckled lightly, ignoring the pain of the wounds of his back.
"It may sound odd to say about myself, but I am an idiot. I can be cruel to my enemies, but I am even more cruel to myself. The term masochism doesn't even begin to describe myself.
"Even if my main body realizes that he feels something for you, he will ignore it, he will bury it, he would rather suffer a life of watching you be in the arms of another man than act on it."
"… Why…?"