Reincarnated as both God and The Devil

"Why… did you do it?"

Viel's whispers continued to echo through the world, his feelings reaching those who do not even know of his existence. And yet even then, they could feel the pain in his words piercing the very depths of their hearts.

Viel's eyes could still not see, and yet they were directly looking at Noah, who was now in his God form. His blue blood, veins, and flesh could be seen pulsating through his translucent and also blue skin.

He was also getting bigger and bigger, until finally, Viel looked like he could fit in the palm of his hand.

"I had to do it for the sake of my Prophecy. I wanted to check if you really are an anomaly…

...I was and I am right."

"Why didn't you just talk to the little child? I was only 5 years old then and probably knew nothing. You should have just talked to him, to me."

Viel's hands started to tremble, twisting the armrest of his wheelchair completely. "I may not know how I felt back then, but I was just a child. Alone and probably afraid."

"I offer no excuse for what I did, Viel," Noah spoke, and the ground beneath him trembled as his voice rippled through the air. "For me, it was a necessary action. But I do understand your anger. I too was once human, and I have also been spending my time with them for quite a while now…

...I apologize for what I did, but for me, it had to be done. I know you are angry--"

"I am not angry, mister Noah." Viel shook his head as the frown on his face started to dissipate, "I have no memories of them, and even if I try to be angry, I would only be pretending if I did so. But what I do feel is his pain."

Viel closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath, his hand grasping his chest tightly. "I could feel his pain and it is eating me whole right now. How could a child so young feel this so much pain?"

"Hm…" Noah let out a breath, even if he did not need to. The past few years of him being in a human form were enough to ingrain the habits of normal humans inside of him. 

"You and him, mister Noah… you could have been friends."

"!!!"

The ground beneath Viel rippled before crumbling into pieces. His feet that had not moved for years finally touched the ground as he slowly stood up for his chair. He then placed his other foot, and in turn, the ground once again cracked.

A crevice formed like a web, even reaching inside the walls of the town.

"...The truth is… I do not blame you, mister Noah. And if the situation was any different, I might have even thanked you for giving my grandfather a painless death. You spared him from seeing his own grandchild becoming the monster that he is now."

"..."

"If it were any other moment, then I probably would have left as soon as you told me to. I… am a monster, mister Noah," Viel said as he slowly stood up. His legs, which he has not used for years, almost made a cracking sound as it fully stretched from the ground.

The truth is, he could always use his legs. The only thing that he sealed was his eyes. For years, even though he could, he did not allow himself to use his legs.

Every step was destruction. He knew it in himself and he took it literally. Even when started to lose all of his memories, he still knew one fact.

He was a walking calamity.

And he also knew one of the reasons why his old self sealed his eyes-- for him not to see the destruction that he will leave in his wake once he started walking again.

His old self truly was quite the poet. 

"No life needs to be lost here, Viel. Just fly away, I can point you to the Planet of the Gods."

"I can't, mister Noah. You see… if there's probably one thing I retained from my old self… is that we can both be very selfish. And it would seem that being merged with Rain only made it worse. I can't leave the person I love behind."

"You will only bring harm to this world, as you do now."

"I am sorry, mister Noah. But you would have to kill me to make me go away." Viel smiled as he slowly took a step forward. His clumsy and awkward steps caused the ground to tremble even stronger.

"...So be it."

Noah raised his hand, and as soon as he did so, the ground beneath their feet extruded from the land, making a platform that reached the clouds in almost the blink of an eye. The colossal platform then slowly grew wider and wider, as if the arena of the heavens itself erected from the earth.

"I may not be able to say it in the near future so I will say it now," Noah once again let out a sigh, "I too, think that we could have been friends, Viel."

"...Then let me also say something as you probably won't hear it…

...Goodbye, mister Noah."

***

A trail of blood was already dripping on Sofia's chin as she bit her lips hard. Perhaps out of all of the people in the world who have heard Viel's words, she was the one who was most affected by them.

Viel's words not only resonated with her, but it pierced her heart. She had been hiding it from herself, suppressing it.

But she knew in herself that she too held the same feelings for Viel.

She loves him.

She didn't know when, she didn't even know why. But throughout the years, she fell for him. The two of them had known each other for almost 7 years now. And they spent more than half of that together, not leaving each other's side.

Waking up each and every morning at each other's side… Always. Even with their obvious age gap, how could she not develop feelings for him?

But still… she never once expressed it. She knew that Viel was a god, but most importantly, he was in pain.

And unlike the people of this world, she does not have long to live. She tried cultivating, for years she tried. But she always failed, even with Lu Yi's guidance.

Her life was limited… and Viel would probably live for a very long time. For him to lose someone he loved again, Sofia could not bear to be the one to do that to him… and so, she did not reciprocate Viel's feelings. Even no matter how much she wanted to, she didn't.

But hearing Viel's words that were filled with sincerity. Hearing his words that called for her… It was probably even more selfish that she does not respond.

And so, Sofia decided then, that after all of this is over… she wanted to take the chance to love and be loved.

Just…

'Please… Vi, return to me alive.'

***

Yinji's almond-shaped eyes looked almost as if they were close as she squinted them. Her eyes not leaving the woman that was running and leaping in front of her.

She had been chasing Cortana without pause ever since she abruptly left during their battle. Even with the speed that they were going, she could still hear Cortana's words.

Xanthus. Xanthus. She kept repeating.

Yinji knew where they were going. It has not even been an hour since they heard Viel's words coming from the direction where Cortana was running to.

Yinji was sure of it. Even if it was a lot deeper now, the owner of the whispers that lingered in the air was Viel. Yinji would never forget him as he made quite the impression on her even with the brief moment that they were traveling together.

But why… Why would Cortana mistake Viel as Demon God Xanthus?

She had to admit, the first time she met Viel, she felt the resemblance between him and Xanthus. And so there was one thought that was now lingering in her mind as she chased Cortana…

Is Viel… the reincarnation of Xanthus?

Reincarnation was only the stuff of the legends. But ever since meeting Viel, Yinji's thoughts with the supernatural have been quite… welcoming. After all, Viel could be considered supernatural himself.

Yinji could not help but let out a slight chuckle. But she quickly shook her head to keep her focus on Cortana. Seeing as they were no longer and lands around them, and only the vast ocean could be seen for miles, it would seem that they already left the Western Continent and were on their way to the North.

She had been battling Cortana at a standstill for years to keep her at bay. But now, she let her pass the Western Continent without even lifting as much as a finger to stop her.

No, seeing the expression on Cortana's face when she suddenly left… she didn't need to. Because for the first time in the years that they have fought, Cortana's face was not calling for death… but life.

And so, she followed Cortana…

...She followed her to the path of life.

But it was not only them. Those who heard the whispers were walking on the path.

Xing Cai, Violet, Diao Mei, Lu Xun, and even Charlotte. They were all walking on the path.

The path leading to Viel.