Hold my Hand!

Chapter 4: Prologue 4: Hold my Hand!

Reborn as a God and a Devil King

"How could there be a heartbeat!? This vessel is barely a week old!"

Lord God Lu Yi could not believe what was happening now, of all the unusual things that have happened to him in his entire existence, this is presumably the most impossible.

A beating heart from a vessel that was barely 5 days old from conception was simply impossible.

"You know, could it be that ... semen is really strong?" replied Kaisel, still finding time to joke, even in his dire situation.

"What nonsense are you saying again!?"

"Hey, if you have any ideas, I'm all ears ... fuck it," Kaisel was beginning to struggle.

The two were trying their hardest to resist the pressure that was being emitted with each heartbeat.

*Pulse*

*Thump*

At this point, even as they talked to each other, their souls were taking their toll. When Lu Yi's pride could no longer bear the humiliation of being suppressed by the very vessel she was supposed to possess, she cried out.

"I, the Ruler of All that is Light, will not kneel!", Lu Yi mustered all her strength and summoned a million blades of light.

But to her surprise, she could not control her powers, the blades that were supposed to obey her began to point their edges at her and Kaisel.

"What are you doing, Lu Yi!?", Kaisel was alarmed at what Lu Yi was doing.

"It's not me! I lost control of the blades!", Lu Yi began to panic as she tried to forcefully regain control of the millions of blades she summoned.

"H-hey! Retract your blades at once!"

"GAAAH!", Lu Yi shouted with all her might as she finally successfully regained control of her blades for a split second, immediately retracting the blades.

"That was really close, oh mighty Lord God. I swear, why do people from the east always want to be so arrogant and domineering!!!", Kaisel scolded Lu Yi.

Although Kaisel doesn't really mind dying - as he was already tired of living, dying as a shiny porcupine is not the way he wanted to go. After all, it was not a fitting end for the Devil, or is it?

After a while, Lu Yi calmed down again and settled down.

"I apologize, Kaisel. It's just that ... I can't take this lying down . It feels like someone is playing with us ... like we're nothing but a couple of kids," Lu Yi regretted his actions and sighed. "When do you think this pressure on us will stop?"

"I-," before Kaisel could even answer. A monotone voice suddenly resounded through the darkness.

[Soul Encounter - Complete...]

[Requirement: 2 Souls of SSS ... Complete]

"W ... who's talking!? Show yourself!" even though Lu Yi still couldn't move properly, she shouted with all her might.

"Geez, I don't like the sound of that ...," Kaisel frowned as he sensed that something dangerous was about to come. His thousand years of instinct that was honed on the battlefield are trembling, telling him to run away.

"Soul meeting? 2 SSS souls? Could that be us?", Lu Yi immediately analyzed the situation while looking at Kaisel.

"I think you're onto something here, Lord God ... There's only the two of us here," Kaisel nervously replied, laughing.

[Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul ... Failed ...]

"1 SSSSSSS Soul!? Even stronger than us ... wait, is there anyone else here!?", Kaisel looked around as if trying to see if there was another soul on board other than them.

"Could it be the owner of the eyes earlier!?", Lu Yi replied as he also tried to find this SSSSS soul that the voice referred to.

Kaisel nodded in agreement. After all, from this vast, empty core, the only things that showed themselves so far were him, Lu Yi, and the mysterious pair of eyes.

[Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul ... Failure]

[Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul .... Failed]

[Reducing the Y-speed of 'Gravity' to -50]

Both Lu Yi and Kaisel could not help but scream in pain as they finally lost the strength to resist the pressure.

[Requirement: 1 SSSSS Soul ... Complete]

Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared in front of them. The pressure that was being emitted by the voice also disappeared.

"Y-you!?".

"Who are you!?"

The pair of eyes did not answer them and just looked down.

[Looking at the Absorption Phase .... 0%]

Hearing this, Kaisel shouted in panic, "Lu Yi, release all his power! Release it now!"

But before Lu Yi could even react, the two bodies began to sink into darkness. They felt themselves slowly being sucked in.

"What is this!? Absorption phase!? Don't tell me ...," Lu Yi began to panic.

The reason Kaisel told Lu Yi to release all his powers was because he felt something like this before.

"Yes, this ... is the same feeling I felt when I was about to disappear into oblivion ...," sighed Kaiselem defeated.

[Absorption ..... 10%]

"W-what!? This can't be! I need to live!", Lu Yi continued struggling as he tried to get out of the darkness.

[Absorption… 20%]

"No! I refuse to give up, my friend sacrificed his soul for me to be here!", Lu Yi was putting all his strength to free himself. But like a quicksand that cost millions of lives, his efforts were in vain. Tears soon fell down his face.

[Absorption… 30%]

Unlike Lu Yi, Kaisel maintained a calm expression. 'So... That's how it really ends for me... huh. Mari, this is really... goodbye.'

[Absorption… 50%]

Kaisel closed her eyes and smiled, readily accepting her fate. He began to reminisce about the first time he met the Hero of Freiden. A woman in full armor, brandishing an ax as she threatened to end the Demon God's life. He couldn't help but laugh as he recalled their memories together.

[Absorption… 60%]

"No! I must live!", Lu Yi was still struggling, her voice almost breaking as her despair began to rise.

Hearing Lu Yi's prayers, Kaisel was about to tell Lu Yi to give up and just accept his fate, but he stopped when he saw the Lord God's face.

Lu Yi, was in tears. A being that is probably even older than he is crying. Lu Yi's expression was something Kaisel was familiar with, it was the same expression his lover wore when he was about to disappear.

Suddenly, the images of Lu Yi and Mari overlapped in Kaisel's mind - and without hesitation, he extended his hand.

"Lu Yi, quick! Take my hand!"

They didn't know if there was any merit in doing so, but like animals driven by instinct, they both reached out to each other.

[Absorption… 70%]

"GAAAAAH!", "HHOOO!", the two shouted at the top of their lungs as they tried to pull each other up.

[Absorption… 80%]

"GAAAH!" they continued to scream, but, like a mountain being pushed by the wind, their efforts were futile.

[Absorption…90%]

"LITTLE FAAANN!!", "MAAAARIERIIII!!", the two couldn't help but shout out their reasons for wanting to persevere. Yes, once again Kaisel has found a reason to live.

He was reminded that even if the whole world wanted him dead, if Marieri was there, living was worth living.

[Absorption…91%]

"GAAAAH!", "HHHOOOO!"

[Absorption…92%]

[Absorption…93%]

"…."

Realizing that no matter how much they fight, their fate has been sealed. Kaisel smiled as he started to calm down.

"Lu Y i… I thank you.", Kaisel closed her eyes as her grip tightened.

Lu Yi, who was still full of tears, didn't respond. Instead, she just looked at Kaisel and nodded.

[Absorption…94%]

"If this karma of fate allows, we will meet again in eternity, Kaisel of Freiden."

And with that final declaration, Lord God Lu Yi also closed his eyes.

[Absorption…95%]

Lu Yi couldn't help but recall her earliest memories, when she was still a mortal living in the cultivation world, how she grew stronger until she became an immortal, when she met Lou Fan... and finally, her rise to Divinity.

[Absorption…98%]

Both were now ready to accept their fate. They once again opened their eyes and looked into each other's eyes with a warm smile.

[Absorption…99%]

[Absorption... 99.9%]

And just like that, they were gone.

Two beings that can topple mountains with a snap of their fingers have been submerged in darkness.

[Absorption... 100%]

[2 Soul Absorption SSS- Completed-]

Suddenly, the dark space distorted. A bald man emerged from the darkness.

If Kaisel and Lu Yi were still here, they would easily identify who this man was just based on his eyes. Yes, the man owned the huge eyes that were looking at them earlier.

The man walked towards where Xanthus and Lu Yi disappeared. He knelt down as he thrust his hands into the darkness. His entire body shook as if he was trying to pull something out of the ground.

He struggled for a while before finally being rewarded for his efforts as he could feel his hand letting go.

[Absorption…99%]

His hand slowly began to reveal itself as he slowly pulled two pairs of hands holding each other out of the darkness.

[Absorption…99%]

The man suddenly smiled and revealed a small laugh before opening his mouth, "Very well, children. The Karma of Fate allows it."

[Absorption…99%]

[Absorption…99%]

[….ERROR MHW-50382: Unable to proceed]

[Checking if the power is sufficient at 99%]

[….]

[.....]

[Check Complete..]

[Analysis: 99% is within the acceptable range]

[… Passing power parameters to the Player object… 100%]

[Trying to delete excess souls… 0/3]

[…]

[Failed]

[Ignoring Excess Soul Deletion]

[… Passing complete control to the Player object]

[10%…40%…80%…97%]

[…97%]

[Cannot proceed because of too many souls (3)]

[…]

[Control assigned to player: 97%]

[…]

[Loading…]

[…]

[… Bejin?]