Vermillion and Gold

Inside the crimson and gold mindscape, both Red and Gold Wulin looked at one another impassively. Gold Wulin wielded the golden trident of the Sea God while Red Wulin used nothing more than his body and the wisdom of mortals. 

"Why?" Weakly spitting out those words the golden eyes of the Golden Dragon King were dull, the flames of anger snuffed out after so many hours of defeat after defeat. He was the Body of the Dragon God, the universal chaos, the Lone King, so why was it that he couldn't even touch his captor?

"I don't know. Take it as the idiocy of humanity." Shrugging his shoulders Red Wulin looked at his clone with a strange swirl of emotions in his eyes. The him from only a few years ago would have devoured his clone without a care in the world but…

"Use my power! Devour me! It's your right!" Yet when faced with the desperation in Gold Wulin's eyes, he couldn't do it. Gold Wulin so desperately wished to be validated even if that meant death. As long as he could make Red Wulin's efforts useless, he would live on in his captor's heart forevermore as his first failure in this life!

Sighing Red Wulin took the initiative for the first time, his movements as fleeting as the wind as his presence disappeared like a ghost. He wasn't as skilled in it as his father or even Xie Xie but it was more than enough for this.

The Sea God's Trident fell to the ground, the golden weapon slowly sinking into the golden sea as clear droplets descended onto its form like rain. Gold Wulin was trapped, his body stuck in a powerful embrace. He should hate it, he should despise the contact with his captor, but…

"Why can't I hate you?" Spitting out those words weakly Gold Wulin couldn't understand. Why was it that he couldn't hate his captor, that he couldn't despise the man for living the life he should have gotten?

"Because you're more gentle than you should be." Laughing softly Wulin embraced his clone tightly, a soft yet apologetic smile on his face. He took this boy's future and though he wasn't willing to give it back the least he could do was take Gold Wulin for this wild ride he called life.

"Gentle? Me?" Despite scoffing at the mere idea, Gold Wulin seemed genuinely surprised by Red Wulin's words. Calling him gentle was like calling the world fair, it simply didn't make sense in the slightest!

"Mhm. You could have tried to take my body over the years but you didn't. Even when the Heavenly Tribulation struck you didn't do it. If that isn't kindness, nothing is." Looking back on it, there were plenty of times Gold Wulin could have tried to take the body. Red Wulin was always strong and sturdy like a rock weathering the waves of time but even he crumbled sometimes.

His awakening meditation, the heavenly tribulation, and each and every day for the last three years was a chance for Gold Wulin. He could have tried to steal the body that should've been his from the start but he didn't. He may be a mess emotionally but Gold Wulin was kinder than anyone else.

"That's…" Fumbling over his words Gold Wulin couldn't muster up much of a retort. Was it wrong to call him gentle? Absolutely. But everything he had done was something that fit under that banner whether he liked it or not. "But… how was I supposed to disrupt your life?"

Gold Wulin wanted his body back so badly that it hurt but how could he steal the life from Red Wulin and to steal Red Wulin from the bonds he made? How could he stomach those kind and warm eyes turning toward him in hatred? They may not be his friends but… he still thought of them like that. His first ever friends.

"See what I mean?" Chuckling softly Red Wulin lifted his clone onto his feet and held him at arm's length. "I can't give you my body, I can't even lend it to you. So how about we make a deal instead?"

"A deal?" Gold Wulin wasn't sure what was happening anymore. Even if he was kind did he truly deserve this much effort from Red Wulin? Why hadn't he just devoured him and been done with it, Gold Wulin was sure he could live with that now. He had been validated enough already.

"Let's share it. Forever. You become me, I become you." Smiling playfully Red Wulin watched as those golden eyes shot open. It was a stupid plan not only because there was no merging when it came to souls but also because it was just unnecessary. Red Wulin had no reason to do this, he was just taking an unnecessary risk.

"That's stupid." Clicking his tongue in annoyance Gold Wulin wasn't even sure why he had bothered listening to such a stupid idea. Shaking his head in disappointment a silent scream left Gold Wulin's lips as he was suddenly pulled forward by an intense attractional force.

"So I've been told. Unfortunately, I'm the smartest idiot in the world." Grinning playfully Red Wulin didn't even flinch as his body began to fade away into small crimson motes of light. Gold Wulin on the other hand couldn't help but groan. "I hope you don't mind me being the main personality. You know how my girlfriend can get." 

"You damn idiot! Get off of me!" Pushing and shoving as hard as he could against Red Wulin's sturdy yet entirely mortal body not even the divine body of Gold Wulin could stop the merging of their respective souls.

"No, I don't think I will." With warmth in his eyes, Red Wulin forcefully sped up the speed of the merging, their respective bodies falling apart at the seams as gold and red light slowly approached one another.

Finally, silence overwhelmed the spiritual sea as both Red and Gold beings vanished from this world.

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Hey there, hope you liked the chapter.

I had a lot of fun writing these last few chapters so I'm a little sad to see them go but there's no point dragging it out any longer. All that's left is to see exactly what changed from the merger between the Lone King and the God of Devils.

If you want more chapters, head to patre*on.com/TrapOverlord for up to 25 extra chapters. It isn't required but it'd be much appreciated.