Chapter 196 Godhead

Headache.

I have a terrible headache.

I opened my eyes and felt that my vision was blurry. I thought it was the severe pain in my head that oppressed my eyes. After a while, when the pain subsided, the scenery in my eyes became clear.

"It's this familiar sky again..."

The blood-red sky of Juancrete, I came back here again. If returning here is regarded as a necessary condition for the [Advent] ceremony, then this assumption can be overturned. Because this time, I did not arrange a ceremony. Instead, I awakened a giant dragon.

A blood-red vortex suddenly appeared in the space in front of him. The red mist dissipated, and sharp evil chains shot out from the vortex. His white robe was stained with blood, and a gloomy-looking Seclonfas walked out of it.

[You don’t think you can escape from my hands like this, beloved one. 】

The god who had driven me into despair not long ago came after me. I took a closer look at his appearance and praised, "Nice trick."

"Viltis."

The angry expression of "Seclonfas" disappeared without a trace, his appearance was distorted, and all the terrifying manifested divine power disappeared. Vertis changed his form, He became another me.

Me with an evil smile.

[Can't even arouse John Kemp's fear, what a failed god. 】

Every time his consciousness enters this world, he will come into contact with the evil crimson god. As expected this time, this demon god had his identity stolen once by Secromfas, and he must steal it back. Vertis's shaping of Seclonfas is completely consistent with my impression of the god of rituals, even the furious and ferocious face is exactly the same.

It completely matches my inner imagination, so similar. I don't think Seclonfas would have made such vivid facial expressions if it were real, that sacrificial god has the baggage of a god's idol. Unlike Wiltis, the wanton exaggeration after his transformation is not his own face after all.

Even without thinking logically, I can easily determine the existence of Vertis. This has manifested itself in the past as a vague intuition that there was a connection between the Crimson God and me. I once thought this was the link between the Beloved and God, but now the truth has been revealed.

After opening the door to the soul, my consciousness found Merlin's consciousness in the soul network. At that critical moment, the mind flayer's ability also allowed me to successfully discover another consciousness deep in my spiritual network.

Vertis has always existed in my spiritual network, and our spirits are connected.

So close yet so unfamiliar, it’s like we are standing on two sides of a mirror, treating each other’s behavior as our own illusions. I felt this way unilaterally, and Vertis's wicked expression made me understand that He knew better.

"What would have happened if I had not chosen Merlin at that time, but had chosen to summon you?"

Wiltis smiled with my face, a smile of disdainful disdain.

[I will not hesitate to dismantle your consciousness and merge it with Secronfas to become a complete crimson god. 】

Did it turn out that you were the wrong choice?

"Why?"

Wiltis did not answer, but asked a new question.

[How well have you absorbed the knowledge that bastard Merlin instilled in you? 】

I held my head and struggled to recall the source of the pain.

"Part of it has been absorbed, but there seems to be some gaps."

Wiltis nodded, "Normal, dragon knowledge is instilled in the entire brain."

I noticed His special word, "whole," which means...

I raised my head and looked at "myself" wearing a blood-red robe.

"It turns out that [you] are the shadow area in my mind."

This was the most straightforward expression I could think of, and I soon realized the derogatory meaning contained in it. I thought Wiltis would angrily refuse to acknowledge this, but instead he showed a look of approval.

"Oh? Are you so understanding? In my opinion, [伱] is the stumbling block that prevents me from controlling my body."

It has become quite obvious that Vertis is my split personality. A personality who controls the power of crimson and calls himself a god.

Controlling the body? A strong sense of crisis arose in my heart. This was not a threat from Seclonfas, but a declaration from another personality, and this bastard kept his word.

"Do you want to take my body too?"

[Seize, stop being funny, John Camp. It’s still hard to determine who this warlock’s body belongs to between you and me? Between you and me, who came into this body first? 】

I first thought this was another bad joke by Wiltis, and then I tasted the deeper meaning of His words.

"you mean……"

[John Camp, when was the first time you experienced, not saw clearly, but felt the world? Rather than reading the memory that exists in the mind, memory cannot represent consciousness. The first time you witnessed the world and felt the emotions in your heart...]

[It was when you met three people, Francis, Nora, and Mariana. They bring you back to your senses, you see it as a rescue, you see them as your family, and that's the basis of gratitude. 】

[Changing a consciousness from madness to sanity is such a superb mental manipulation skill, right? How difficult do you think it would be for a woman with such skill to re-create from chaos a person named John Camp to dominate the body? 】

[You are not the main body of the Crimson Follower. You are a rational personality born from emotions and beliefs, taught by the three people with words. Neither you nor I are the main personality. The cowardly boy who was forced by the cultists has already sacrificed everything he has in the first sacrifice ceremony. ]

[I, who came from the consciousness of sacrifice, dominate this body. ]

[Then it is you, who was born in accordance with the wishes of the three people. ]

[If we really count from the time, I came much earlier than you, do you understand? John Kemp. ]

I felt stunned, but my innate rational thinking and Marianna's teachings suppressed my inner collapse. I thought about Virtis's words and couldn't find any mistakes at all. His words can be explained by logical thinking.

He was right.

I, John Kemp, am just a personality in this body, a personality trained by Marianna and others.

What's going on? I actually feel a little happy.

"Wait!" I suddenly remembered that poor body and the resentment of Virtis' torture.

"All my pain is caused by you! You are another me, I torture myself? I hate me?"

"Not a worse Crimson God, but a worse me?"

Bad taste, evil, contempt for mortals, and those annoying but familiar words and methods.

Damn, it's really me.

Virtis sensed my thoughts, showed his familiar smirk, and shook his finger again.

[No, the pain of the Crimson God is real, everything comes from cognitive errors. ]

[You are more rational than me, absorbing the memories of your predecessor, and creating a terrible demon in your mind. The sequelae of sacrifice and the changes in your body have aggravated this cognition. ]

[You are a thief, John. You hate the Crimson God but are reluctant to give up His divine power, so a bad demon personality, a Virtis personality that likes to play with you, appears in accordance with your needs. ]

[The Crimson God is just a rule, and Virtis is your excuse to use the Crimson power with peace of mind. All the reasonable explanations about the cause of your pain are your own imagination, only pain is real. 】

【Using power, believing that blasphemy will be played by the evil god, pushing the fault to the crimson god, and using the crimson power recklessly, this is you, John Kemp, a despicable sorcerer. 】

【And I, Virtis, meet all requests from the other me, regardless of the cost to realize John Kemp's "wishes", the real controller of the crimson power. Impersonating the identity of the crimson god to execute the punishment game on the other me, I am the real blasphemer. A helpful existence like me actually bears the name of the evil god because of your accusations. I am really a kind and good god. 】

I covered my head and felt confused.

The previous assumption was wrong. Virtis didn't find my impiety interesting and tortured me with all kinds of bad tastes. The truth is that the crimson god doesn't care about my blasphemy at all. I got the divine power because of the rules of sacrifice, but the divine power eroded this flesh and caused pain. And I constructed a Virtis who plays with me for fun with my own way of thinking.

I raised my head and looked at Virtis, and his smirk changed because he sensed my thoughts.

"I have a bold idea..."

[You'd better not say it. ]

"You also said that Virtis is a devil with evil tastes based on my imagination, and you are Virtis. In other words, even if I am not the original personality of this body, you are just a personality created by my fantasy. You are after me."

[No, I just think it's fun to be Virtis, and playing the evil god in your heart is a very interesting blasphemy in my opinion, so I made this change. I am essentially still the chaotic personality that was sent down in the first sacrifice. 】

"You can't prove it. The first personality disappeared in the first sacrifice ceremony, which was the first personality, the original main personality. The second personality is the chaotic personality of the Crimson Follower that controls the body's actions. The third personality is me awakened by Mariana and others, and you are Virtis, who was split in my imagination, that is, the fourth personality."

"The second personality is the shadow area of ​​the brain produced by the sacrifice ceremony, which has been proven by facts, but Virtis, as the fourth personality, is equal to the chaotic consciousness of the second personality. This is just your assumption."

"Virtius, what has not been proven is just a lie."

The other me narrowed my eyes.

[No, I am the second personality. ]

"Where is the evidence?"

[I can really torture you. ]

I closed my mouth, and at the same time, I was more convinced that this was just Virtis's anger.

[Our minds are connected because of the mind network, John Kemp. I'm sorry that the torture I tortured you before was just your imagination, but I promise that your imagination will become a reality next time. ]

I am so powerless against the other me.

"Do you hate me so much?"

Virtius shook his head.

[It is just a beating for the coward who speaks outrageously.]

[Hating the Crimson God, wanting to avenge the Crimson God for the damage to our bodies and spirits, blasphemy, and becoming blasphemers is our consensus.]

[Giving up the power in my hands and the answers I have thought about, I feel that at the critical moment, as long as I make a false wish to Virtis, the evil god will use his violence to destroy all difficulties.]

[Don't rely on yourself, pray to God.]

[Belief in the power of God is the greatest devotion to God. 】

[This cannot be called blasphemy. 】

[I have both sides of John Camp and the Crimson God. Depending on your perception, I will be biased towards the blasphemous warlock or the perverse evil god. 】

[Just like this time, if you don't trust the truth obtained by researching with Merlin, and just like in the past, come to me and make a wish. I will completely become Vertis, merge with Secromfas, and become the complete crimson god you think of in your heart. 】

I opened my mouth.

"And I managed to trust my companions and myself, so you revealed the truth about the other me. You favored us, the blasphemous warlock."

Wiltis showed his standard evil smile, the blood on the red robe squirmed as if alive, and the crimson divine power turned into chains, red mist, lightning, and a storm that shook the world.

[Of course, compared to the fusion of consciousness with the Crimson God...]

【I prefer to be my complete self. 】