Free Web NovelChapter 669: Chapter 668 The Reason for Choosing_1
Stalemate—Aiden mulled over the significance of this term.
"Are you trying to make me lower my guard?" Aiden responded.
"Breaking the rules in a place like this takes the fun out of the game. Declaring defeat means defeat, declaring a draw means it’s a draw," Melissa replied. "Anything beyond that would just lead to upending the game board and having a brawl, which wouldn’t be fun."
Aiden realized that the Scheming Goddess had never taken this battle seriously from start to finish. Unlike him and the Goddess of Revenge, who took the fight seriously, Melissa was merely toying with the idea of playing a game of power with Aiden after his ascension to a ruler, although she wouldn’t hesitate to assimilate both Aiden and the Goddess of Revenge if she won. But she wasn’t overly fixated on this.
"Of course, for you, managing to force a stalemate can be considered a rather good outcome. You can treat it as your victory," Melissa said with a laugh.
"There’s no need for sarcasm at this time."
"No, I’m sincere. It has been a long time since I’ve encountered such a situation. You’ve successfully broken away from my hands and stepped out of the chessboard to become a chess player equal to myself. Honestly, right now, my feelings... they do include a bit of frustration," the Scheming Goddess replied.
"What do you plan to do after this?" Aiden asked.
"I will leave for a while. Since you have such principles, I will entrust my other half to you for the time being. Of course, I will come back," the Scheming Goddess said. "I’ll prepare new chess pieces and start a new game with you. I look forward to the next time you surprise me."
New chess pieces—Aiden felt a sinking feeling in his heart.
There are probably many others in this world like him and the Goddess of Revenge, created by the Scheming Goddess without self-awareness. These "hero units" favored by the Scheming Goddess could be called upon by different authorities, and with the Scheming Goddess’s assistance from behind the scenes, they all hold the potential of gaining power.
When Melissa returns to set up her game next time, Aiden may have to face more than just Melissa and the Fantasist.
But time, as an objective condition, is fair to both sides.
While Melissa prepares her pieces, he can also make preparations for himself.
From his perspective, this was still an acceptable outcome.
"Farewell, I will miss you, my dear Prison Warder. I had quite a good time," Melissa said with her final words.
The Goddess of Revenge sensed the Scheming Goddess’s presence fading from her perception and turned to Aiden, asking, "I can’t sense her anymore. Given your silence just now, what did she tell you?"
"Continue the next game," Aiden shrugged. "She just ran off like that."
"Just like that... tucked tail and ran?" The Goddess of Revenge’s eyes widened slightly, then she scoffed coldly, "Heh, I knew I could never get along with that bitch."
The realm of "Desire" gradually faded until it vanished.
The prisoners and the guards in the jail awakened as if from a dream.
"How did I get distracted?"
"What just happened...?"
"I feel like I’ve forgotten something..."
Everyone looked around blankly at each other, as if there was a gap in everyone’s memory.
Aiden noticed that Veronica and the others, who had been forcibly brought into this dungeon by Melissa, were also waking up. He promptly cast "Exile" to safely transport them out of the secret dungeon.
"I really didn’t expect that for all these years, you’ve been playing this prison game here with that bitch," the Goddess of Revenge said to Aiden with a cold smirk. "You damn little swindler."
"I’ve never deceived you; I just didn’t tell you," Aiden said nonchalantly.
"Hand her over to me to slaughter," the Goddess of Revenge demanded.
"No," Aiden answered.
"Hmph, are you insisting on keeping a threat for yourself?" the Goddess of Revenge said.
"As long as there are prisoners, the warder has a reason to exist. Unless a prisoner breaks containment, I would only take action when necessary," Aiden replied calmly.
"So, what if I want to leave now?" The corners of the Goddess of Revenge’s mouth revealed a faint smile.
"Would you go back on your word?" Aiden frowned.
"I’m fickle, how else would I have broken away from that bitch and gone solo?" the Goddess of Revenge grinned.
Although she and Aiden had a covenant, which was firmly bound by the power of "laws," the Revenge Goddess wasn’t incapable of using her own powers to do something provided she was willing to pay a certain price.
"But I am someone who never changes," Aiden stared into the eyes of the Revenge Goddess, "this is also why I broke away from the Conspiracy Goddess’s chessboard."
If the Revenge Goddess insisted on stirring up trouble, Aiden would only have to find a way to keep her imprisoned here.
Halo still needed to continue serving his sentence; Aiden would not give up his duty as the warden. Besides, to stand against the Conspiracy Goddess, the power of the Revenge Goddess was also indispensable.
"..."
"..."
After a long stare, the Revenge Goddess suddenly let out a sinister laugh, "Forget it, I don’t have that idea for now. Moreover, that bitch is half in your hands, and the other half has set her sights on you. To find her, staying by your side is the most efficient approach, so I might as well continue to play along with your prison charade." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the Revenge Goddess wasn’t mad enough to bite him yet.
The Revenge Goddess was also a deity of extremely high danger, and he had to take on the responsibility of keeping her under control.
"Alright, send me back to my cell! I want to go back to sleep," the Revenge Goddess waved her hand.
"You should change your body back first!" Aiden sighed.
"I still prefer a young and beautiful body, though."
"That’s the one the Conspiracy Goddess used, do you like wearing the same clothes as her?" Aiden glanced at her.
"Then forget it!" the Revenge Goddess earnestly began to prepare to change back into Halo’s body.
"Phoenix." Before the Revenge Goddess changed back, Aiden called out to her.
"Kid, don’t you dare throw a ’thank you’ out of the blue, it’ll give me the creeps," the Revenge Goddess frowned and glanced at him askance.
"I just wanted to casually ask, what do you think made you choose to abandon those memories at the end?" Aiden asked.
"Humph, didn’t you do the same and you’re asking me?" the Revenge Goddess replied indifferently, "Probably just did it because I felt like it, same as you, I guess."
"Maybe," Aiden’s eyes dropped.
The Revenge Goddess was unpredictable, while he had his own principles. He and the Revenge Goddess were completely opposite people, but it was these extremes that led them to the same choice.
He searched his mind for those memories that belonged to the Conspiracy Goddess, which he had mostly actively deleted.
Still, there were fragments of scattered memories, that weren’t originally his, lying deep within his consciousness—
"Is this soul sufficient? You’ve read his memories; he’s not a formidable warrior."
"No, it’s enough."
...
"I chose you because you are like me, you have your own perseverance..."
... frёewebnoѵēl.com
"My story has ended, the rest is up to you, I’m sorry."
...
These remnants of will flickered in his mind; strictly speaking, the one who chose him was not the true former Aiden, but without a doubt, these wills were fundamentally from that man.
Vaguely, Aiden heard a gentle, almost illusory phrase:
"Thank you."
"What are you spacing out for, kid?" the voice of the Revenge Goddess brought Aiden back to reality.
"Change the body back and let’s go," Aiden said unflinchingly, "it’s time to go back."
