Chapter 158 - Decision

"Let me hear what your request entails."

"Mou~ Shouldn't you be a filial son and immediately agree?"

Serina fakes a hurt look. But Ray simply stared deadpan at her. He wouldn't fall for such a simple trick to agree without hearing the details. After all, he employed this trick a lot and was quite familiar with it.

Seeing, she could trick him. She finally relent to her playful display and get serious.

"First thing first, how familiar are you with the grand scale of the verses and dimensions?" Serina asked.

The other who had no clue stayed silent while Ray, the one asked, tried to think before he answered.

"Uh… a little? The bare minimum." Ray scratched his head with his paw looking confused. "Anything more advanced is beyond me." He admitted.

"In that case. I have to start from the very beginning then." Serina nodded to herself, not really expecting Ray to know since he is still an infant that barely leaves the confines of the multiverse to the higher verses.

"Well, I will give you a quick run down on the important details." Serina said before she started to explain with as much details as she deemed necessary.

A lot of things were explained about the concept of Monocosm. The state of the Monocosm, the factions that ruled it and the hierarchy. Though, most of it just leaked out the other side of his ears since it's a boring explanation. But thankfully, Ray being an existence of his level could have perfect photographic memories that anything he viewed, listened to and experienced will forever be archived in his mind.

In Serina's explanation. She focuses on the factions.

In the Omniverse he is currently in, there existed four factions. The Lawful, The Evil, The Chaos and The Preserver.

The Lawful established order and brought forth creation into the omniverse. Much similar in goal with the Preserver whose goal is to preserve the stability of the Omniverse.

The Evil seek to break the order of the Omniverse and bring forth destruction of creation.

Lastly, the Chaos. Most of the time they are neutral factions minding their own business. But they relish sowing chaos and enjoying the fun of it in pursuit of entertainment and often come in conflict with all three factions.

Apparently, Serina and Ray are part of the Chaos Faction as are most if not all Eldritch and Outer Gods.

The head of the Lawful Order is a deity who is so strong that Serina said could kill her like an ant if he so wished. Also, this Deity has a similar name as himself.

She didn't even dare to utter his name in fear of being noticed and smited down since that guy apparently is truly omnipotent and omnipresent in the truest sense. Simply uttering his name could lure in his presence.

"So, you want me to join hands and kill this 'Ray' guy or something?" Ray made a not so educated guess which obviously missed the mark.

Serina frowned at his guess and quickly chastised him.

"Don't be ridiculous. He would even need to exert any effort to exterminate us from existence." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, he wouldn't spare a thought for small fries like us. His hands are always occupied with another Ray of the 'Evil' faction."

"Another Ray?" Ray was confused why all these big figures have similar names as himself.

"Indeed, it's another Ray. It's complicated and best left for later since it's not that important. Instead, our focus is the clones. The Lawful Faction Ray's clones."

"A very long time ago. He created numerous clones of himself to fill his army and waged war of conquest across the cosmos to unite the Omniverse under his rule. However, many of them eventually died in battle and reincarnated. The reincarnation wiped most of their memories but their power remained intact which his enemies learned about and manipulated the clones to their advantage, making the reincarnated clones turn them against the original Ray.

The following civil war between the original and the clones that ensued is much more devastating than the previous war because no matter how they die, as long as the original Ray still exists, they can reincarnate endlessly even if their soul is destroyed or exterminated.

Ray's enemies came to regret their choices as their universes were laid waste which turned them bitter and launched essentially a witch-hunt to eliminate the clones that plagued the omniverse.

These so called clones are called the Type-RAY. Whether you are born with the name or taking the name for yourself. The moment you do, you are a Type-RAY. An anomalous existence in this omniverse that will inevitably grow to the apex of existence but in return, are cursed with a tragic life if they are powerless to bear the curse."

"Wait, hold on a second… I am one of the reincarnated clones?" Ray's voice started to shake off the sheer disbelief of what he just heard.

"Not exactly one. But an amalgamation of them. The fragments of the original clones' souls that got destroyed will attract one another and seize a soul to reform into a proper soul. This is also why you meet me upon your death. Or rather, I am the one attracted to you."

Upon hearing this, many things in Ray's mind become clear. From his apparent bad luck in life, always taking the L's and growing up thinking his life is set for greatness only to march into a miserable future with the amount of bad turns he took in life.

"It was rigged… my life was rigged all along…" Ray mutters like a broken tape recorder as the final moment of his previous life flashed through his mind.

'God send his regards.'

Followed by a gunshot to his head.

Ray was moment away from tearing a rift back to the Earth of his previous life but his power suddenly rebelled against him and dissipated as he looked at Serina with his wrath shifted to her.

It was the rare few instances when Ray displayed genuine anger.

"Now. Now. No going on a murder spree. You must abide by the rules of reincarnation. Once you have left behind your previous life and move on. You must sever all karmic debt." She said with a stern reprimanding tone before she softened and reached her arms out to lift Ray up. "Besides, your murderous look does not fit your cute little form."

Ray was unconsciously baring his fangs and claws, hissing angrily before he was stuffed between two soft and pillow-like mounds. This helped him take away from his anger as his embarrassment sets in, trying to push himself away from being suffocated. Not that he needs to breathe to live. But his tiny little paws could only achieve little success and sunk into her unrealistically massive mounds that she purposely inflated at that moment.

When his rationality returns, Ray realized that she was actually trying to pacify him because his angered state terrified others around them. After all, eldritch beings wrap reality around them effortlessly. Much less when intense emotions are involved. As such, he stops fighting back and relent to his fate as his body turns limp.

Ray lifts his head up, peeking between her breasts and looking up at Serina's face.

"Alright. So, how does this explanation fit into your 'blunder'?" He wondered after hearing her explanations.

"Well… remember what I said about you being a RAY?" She asked.

Just thinking about it made him depressed but he offered a nod.

"Yeah, how I had a curse and possibly bounty hunters coming for my head?" Ray mutters depressedly.

"Yes. But I dealt with it with my own powers." She nods but immediately puts on a hesitant look before she continues. "Essentially, you are living inside a conjuration of my mind. A safe haven from the curse and outside threat. Yet, also a false world meant to provide you a safe environment to grow."

Hearing this, Serina turns away from Ray as if expecting him to get anything. But he stayed strangely silent which piqued her curiosity enough to turn back and look at him.

Ray stared back at her lazily with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You are expecting me to get angry that I lived my life in a world of lies conjured up by you?"

"Are you not angry?" She mustered her courage to ask, somehow fearing his rejection.

"I am. But not bothered enough to really care." He shrugged. "You did it for my safety, are you not?" He asked and she nodded. "Then, I see no point in getting angry about it. Besides, I sort of got the clues already with my weirdly super realistic dreams." He ended with a shudder of his most recent dream.

"So, my real question is… why are you even doing all this trouble and also, don't tell me your 'blunder' is you encountering an enemy too strong you couldn't beat." Ray's face turned to horror thinking about a possible enemy aiming for him that even Serina couldn't handle.

Serina nodded to answer his second question before she answered the first one. Upon hearing it, Ray didn't even know how to react.

"Right… Eldritch Gods and their chronic boredom. Fair enough, I guess." Ray accepted her answer.

"So, what are we going to do now?"

"Run. Run as far as possible so that we can't get caught. Besides, I already have a destination in mind." Serina answered after telling Ray that her true body is already fighting a losing battle against the killer sent to deal with him.

"Where is that destination?"

"The Great Beyond, border of the material plane and existence. Only then we could exit the circle of influence of the First Ray and enter The Outside. The cradle and home of the Eldritch Race." She iterates with great flair.

"But something tells me the journey isn't going to be easy or we wouldn't even need to discuss this…" Ray narrowed his eyes at Serina who immediately looked guilty.

"We would be lucky if I could even survive the current battle. After all, they sent a clone of Ray as the hunter to deal with you. A specialized 'hunter' to deal with our kind." She grimaced at her own words.

It didn't take Ray much to guess what she was hinting about.

"We are fucked, aren't we?" Ray mutters as the images of the specialized 'hunters' that can kill powerful Eldritch Gods as slightly above baseline mortals send a primordial chill down his feline spine like he just felt the gaze of his natural predator gazing at his vulnerable body.

"There's no better word to describe it." She nodded in confirmation.

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