The Villain has Perished



"What…" A threatening voice left my mouth. "Do you mean by that?"

Did they want to take control over my body?

Although unlikely, it wasn't completely impossible as they were different versions of me.

Thirdth raised his hands and answered.

"Don't misunderstand. The three of us are you."

He pointed to Firsth, Secondth, and himself.

"We are not your egos or your split personality. We can't take over you because we are you, in literal terms.

"The only reason we can think objectively and talk to you is thanks to Firsth momentarily barricading our minds."

His words were reasonable. But I still held a seed of doubt. "If you are me, then why are there two of us?"

Thirdth pointed his index finger at my head.

"Between your brain and you. Who is Sol?"

I opened my mouth to answer, only to close it in the end.

Scientifically speaking 'Sol' would be the brain. Our brain is the one controlling our body. It is responsible for thinking, moving, our personality and every little bodily function.

'I' am my brain. 

It is normal to think of your brain as a different body organ. However, the brain is undeniably the very core of the definition of 'me'.

Both were the one and same.

"I understand. So although I think of you as a different version of me. You are 'me'. The reason you can talk — which isn't normally possible — is thanks to Firsth."

Thirdth had been calling others by the same name I gave them. 

It showed both of us possessed similar thinking patterns, proving Thirdth's words further.

"Who will gain control of my body in that case?" I spoke while facing Fourth and Fifth.

Again Thirdth was the one to answer. It seemed he was the spokesperson of this council.

"Fifth has refused. The voting will occur to choose a dominant ego between you and 'Fourth."

Unlike the first three, Fourth and Fifth weren't me and had their own egos. It was possible for them to gain control as they had distinct personalities.

"I'll take the honors." said Thirdth before casting his vote.

The Voting started.

"I vote for Fourth."

With Thirdth as the lead, Secondth spoke and then Fifth.

"I vote for Fourth."

"I'll abstain."

Two in Fourth's favor and one neutral.

The only ones left were Firsth and Fourth, both of whom never spoke since the beginning.

Seconds turned into minutes and Firsth didn't speak anything.

"Firsth is abstaining."

And finally, Fourth spoke for the first time. "I'll vote for myself."

The voting ended without any surprises.

With 0 votes against 3 votes, I lost.

"Do you have anything to say?" spoke Thirdth with a hint of sarcastic undertone.

If Firsth was capable of creating such a space for us to hold a council he could also replace my ego. I had no doubts about it.

But there was something I didn't understand. Why involve me? Couldn't they have done this 'council' without me?

"I actually do." I muttered monotonously. "At first, you told me this council was to discuss my previous blunders. How is that tied to replacing my ego?"

"What was your plan to defeat Qantal?"

Thirdth posed a question instead. 

Strangely enough, I didn't feel any aversion to answering them. I intuitively knew they were trying to help me and these questions were for my sake.

….However, that intuition could also have been their doing to trick me.

"Creating Jae-sung's ego and using him to defeat Qantal." I answered.

"And how were you planning to come back?"

Suddenly, I was at a loss for words.

"I had no concrete plan of returning. It was a gamble. I believed my ego would return when Fourth left Dream Tree after defeating Qantal."

In fact, Dream Tree was a junction. It was a dimension joining dreams and reality.

As long as the changes made inside the dream tree are small and inconsequential, they can be brought to reality.

However, I didn't know if the change of ego was considered a small change.

Would my ego return or would I become Jae-sung forever?

I didn't know. Hence, I called it a gamble.

Thirdth nodded and opened his mouth. "Your mentality is dangerous. Just because it had an infinitely minuscule chance of victory, you threw yourself into the gamble without any hesitation."

I tilted my head.

What was the problem with my decision?

It was a gamble. But without it, my chances of victory were 0%.

Thirdth sighed. "How many people can follow a possible suicide plan with zero hesitation?"

"I don't understand your point here. I made the most rational choice out of every possibility presented to me. Why are you trying to say it was a wrong choice?"

"It wasn't wrong. But the path you took was questionable. Inside the dream world, how many times did the thought 'retreat' or 'escape' come into your mind?"

He continued.

"Stop thinking if it was possible or impossible in that situation. Just tell me, did you think of running away?"

"I didn't."

Escaping Qantal wasn't possible. I couldn't run and thus didn't bother thinking of a method of escape. 

Instead, my efforts were directed towards searching for a path to victory.

What was wrong with that?

"Do you understand now? You have no fear when you decide on a goal. With an aim, you start behaving like a robot. In the pursuit of a goal, your sense of self-preservation and morals disappear.

"It is dangerous for 'us' if you were to live like this which is why we've decided to give control to someone with a better mentality of approaching their goal."

I still didn't understand.

If you have a goal, isn't it normal to do anything and everything in order to achieve it?

Thirdth's words meant I should at least hesitate or doubt myself. But why would I do that when I have a set objective in my mind?

"This isn't going anywhere." Thirdth sighed. "You only need to know you've lost the voting."

I also decided to ignore the issue. And to get control back.

"What do you mean? I won the voting obviously, didn't I?"

"...It was 0 votes against 3 votes. You lost."

"It was 2 votes against 1 vote." 

His brows creased and he stared at me as if looking at a madman.

I scoffed and pointed at him. "Aren't both of us the same? Why do you get to vote for my chance?"

Shifting my index finger, I spoke to Secondth. "You too. You are me so I can also vote for you too.

"Thanks to you two, I got two votes and I won."

Secondth and Thirdth were 'me'. Didn't that mean I can vote instead of them in the meeting?

"You think such an irrational logic will work?"

"I do."

I couldn't win with fair logic? Then I'll bullshit with sophistry!

It wasn't wrong as long as it had logic in it!

From there an intense debate between Thirdth and me began.

…

..

.

Thirdth stared at the disappearing visage of Sol. He advised.

"Don't get too close to her for your revenge. Don't forget, if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you."

With those words. Sol crumpled into dust and returned to reality.

As soon as Sol disappeared, the bodies of Secondth and Thirdth started becoming transparent. The forest, the sky, the sun and the council also began to dissolve.

In the midst of the bizarre phenomena, Fifth spoke to Thirdth. "Why did you lie to 'yourself'? It isn't possible to switch his ego with Fourth or me."

Thirdth stared at Fifth coldly as he answered.

"It was a warning. I'm sure he also knew the voting was fake. His composure was proof of that."

The corner of Fifth's lips rose. 

"You are egotistical and arrogant, you know that?" He then muttered in a barely audible whisper. "It makes me want to turn you into an experimental subject. Too bad, I can't help you outside until you learn to create the Dream Seed yourself."

"I do."

Thirdth ignored Fifth's murmuring and patted Secondth. "Don't worry. I would never give up on my revenge. Even if it takes a year, a decade or even a century."

With those words everything crumpled into dust, returning to the void, everything except the three figures.

Firsth, Fourth and Fifth.

Firsth stood up and began walking. He left Fourth and Fifth and entered the eternal darkness.

Till the end, no one saw his appearance.

However, Fifth was able to notice something. The lion pattern on Firsth's back.

…

..

.

Sharp air stung my cheek as I roused from my slumber.

'Wait sharp air?'

My eyes shot open and I realized my current predicament. I was falling from the sky!

That damned Fifth returned my ego while he was flying!

The time spent in the council was a split second in reality. I returned as soon as Fifth's ego disappeared.

'Calm down, I can fly now.'

I coated my body in Stellar Mana. 

Awakening Stellar mana was counted as an inconsequential feat and it occurred in reality too.

'Huh, why can't I fly?'

I quickly realized a crucial lapse in my judgment. 

I had never flown before and inside the dream tree – not knowing the difficulty of flying – I was using the dream tree's ability to supplement my flight unconsciously.

'Curse you Jae-sung! You made flying appear so easy! How is this easy!'

Like a chick trying to fly for the first time after jumping from the nest, I was falling to my death!