Exchange

"You're a completely different person, you're not Theos, or am I wrong?" the voice asked suddenly, making Ark jump.

'If he knows, then why didn't he kill me in the first place?' wondered Ark, caught in an internal conflict.

Still, calm on the surface, Ark nodded, confirming the Supreme Lord's words.

'There's no point in lying now that you know. Besides, I don't know what could happen if I lie to myself or lie to him.... I should have a pretty scary anti-lie skill.', Ark concluded quietly, waiting for the voice to answer.

"You know? You are someone else, but in a literal sense; an unknown soul merged with Theos' soul, giving you origin," the voice replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. But Ark was paralyzed, like a block of ice.

His expression stiffened, as did his muscles, and he didn't even breathe.

'I'm a new being, what's the point? I'm Ark... Not Theos', Ark repeated several times, beginning to doubt his very existence, even though he remembered everything from his past life.

But without pausing, the voice roared again. "Right now, the unknown soul is dominating because you haven't awakened the memories of Theos, but don't worry, I'll help you with that."

The next moment, the whole room was filled with a strange sound... a snapping of fingers.

"AGGGHHHH!" wincing, Ark fell to his knees, clutching his head tightly.

Fingers dug into his scalp, and from his ears came a deep red liquid, blood.

"AhHhhhhHhh!" he cried out in pure pain.

Ark began to remember his entire life on Earth.

He had been an orphan, abandoned by his parents. Growing up in an environment full of danger on the streets, young Ark was always cautious. Sometimes he was even beaten to death for stealing food.

His childhood was difficult, but he could only endure until his hands were calloused, his body scarred, and his eyes dried up from crying.

Soon, his whole being was filled with cruelty to survive his harsh reality.

Study, training, study, training, training, study, training... an endless loop.

He grew up, entered a public school, and, with his high grades, made it to high school on a scholarship. He soon was admitted to one of the most prestigious universities in his country, which he was proud to attend.

He never focused on romance to achieve his ultimate goal: to be the best, the strongest, the most powerful.

Thanks to his scholarships, even in college he had a dormitory and all the necessities, including a telephone, where he began to read novels.

Everything was going well until, without warning, just after graduating from college and about to begin his path to power, he woke up in the body of Theos.

"NOOO!", remembering how all his efforts for years went up in smoke when he was in another world, Ark became so angry that he completely forgot about the pain and roared in rage.

He had tried to forget everything; he had tried to forget his past life so as not to fall into a rage, but this time, it was impossible as he was forced to remember his entire life.

His anger was just food for what Theo's body was hiding... Ark's thoughts, full of rage, anger, sadness, and disappointment to an extreme degree, made his left eye glow a scarlet red.

The scarlet eye glowed so brightly that it was like a sun in a space filled with darkness, like a star of destruction in an area where there was nothing to destroy.

"...", he stood up and stopped holding his head to stare into the void.

The anger was gone and there was nothing left in his expression but indifference.

But soon, other memories flooded Ark's mind, and this time, they were Theos' memories.

Ark already knew all of Theos' information, but this time he was reliving his entire life in his memories, as if they were dreams, feeling the emotions Theos felt in those memories.

It was an overwhelming feeling, unfamiliar and .... terrifying.

Ark had read several web novels, but the protagonists never felt anything when they had the memories of their predecessor if anything, a vague feeling of empathy or pity.

But this time, Ark felt Theo's true emotions. He felt like him.

'I've been imitating him for so long, I don't even know if I'm imitating him or ..... I am Theos,' Theos thought, still confused on an existential level, but not letting that stop him.

'I will be Theos, at least in this life; I will no longer be Ark... I am now Theos Von Fallen, the successor of the great Fallen Clan,' Theos concluded, accepting his new identity at that moment.

He didn't know how he had died; he just appeared in this world. He didn't even know if he had died, but it didn't matter now; his ambitions were on another much bigger goal.

"What now?" the voice asked casually, but even for Theos he felt a spark of curiosity in its tone.

"Now that..." Theos said, repeating his words as he wiped the blood from his nose and ears. "Now I want to be powerful, but not just powerful like in my previous life... I want to be the most powerful," Theos said with conviction.

The voice fell silent. A silence that Theos, in his new life, did not find uncomfortable, but strangely peaceful.

"And how do you think you will manage to be the most powerful? And what do you want to be the most powerful for?" the voice asked. This time, there was no trace of indifference but true curiosity.

With his glowing eyes, one as dark as the night itself and the other brighter than the sun itself, black and scarlet, Theos stepped forward.

"I want to be the most powerful to rule everything, I want to be the ruler of everything... I want to be the epitome of perfection."

"And for that, I want to exchange with you."

~