Chapter 3

The world is bright!

Just by pushing myself a little further, the dim interior suddenly became clear. So now I can see things that were hidden before.

There are loads of heretics downstairs, but upstairs there are people with iron helmets on their heads aiming something at me.

Even though only the eye holes are visible, I can somehow see their whole faces… But most of them are too faint.

There’s just a tiny bit of warmth, and then it falls toward me as light after a short while.

Even if I gather all the embers together, it won’t be warm at all. The little bit of warmth that barely touched my fingertips has already dissipated, reminding me once again how cold I am.

More warmth…

Hehe…

Since there are so many good targets around to do whatever I want, let’s get started!

Now that my creaky body moves more smoothly, let’s check out the surroundings again.

In front of me is a big guy with what looks like religious tattoos on his face. He seems to be the highest-ranking person here.

Why? Because among those waiting upstairs, there are many worrying about him, and no weapon’s aim is passing through this man.

Huh?

How do I know they’re worried?

Even though I can read people’s faces, with all these human-like and non-human creatures around…

Strangely, I can sense their emotions as if I could reach out and grab them. I don’t know their thoughts, but at least I can taste their feelings.

Taste?

Ah!

All the light I’ve been licking until now! It brought back memories, so I understand these creatures well after tasting countless lights.

At least I know the big guy in front is extremely angry. But first, there’s scattered light below…

No, my warmth!

Clank.

Something stopped me. I don’t need to look to know. There are iron shackles on my arms and legs, chaining me to an iron chair.

Oops, forgot about that.

“Please calm down. I’m not your enemy. We sincerely pray that our deity will grant our wish.”

So many things I want to say. If you call yourself a god and tie someone up like this, how many people would actually listen?

Looking up, there are several people far away aiming at me. Not guns, but some kind of large bows. They’re huge, like ballistae from games.

And the tips of those arrows are shimmering with unknown power. I can tell that if hit, this vessel will definitely shatter.

That won’t do.

Yeah.

Even though there’s warmth in front…

I don’t want to be ejected back to the bottom without gaining any warmth.

I turn my head. Not mine, the girl’s head. When her brain cells click into place, memories appear like when I licked the light.

She was a child from a fairly well-off family.

She grew up loved.

She had some special ability that promised a bright future.

But then heretic soldiers came, killing her parents, family, and servants. After slaughtering everyone, they stuck some strange device onto her tongue, checked something, and knocked her unconscious.

When she woke up, she was surrounded by people chanting strange incantations. She couldn’t even scream because her body wouldn’t respond.

Then…

Snap.

While experiencing immense pain, she saw a strangely shaped blade pierce her heart, dying as it was cut out with some weird tool.

I can’t see where the heart went.

The S-shaped knife that pierced her heart is now hanging from the big guy’s waist. Looking around carefully, I don’t see any meat chunks.

Alright then.

For some reason, the hole in the middle of my chest is gone. Though I can feel the sensation of having done something, I don’t have a heart anymore.

Let’s upgrade to something more efficient.

Instead of heartbeat, rotation sends blood out, making less noise. Realizing how noisy physical bodies are, I focus my gaze on the man.

There are several things I should ask, but first, I need to gauge whether what the man wants is achievable.

If not?

Wouldn’t I just get ejected outside again?

“What’s your wish?”

Murmurs.

As soon as I finish speaking, the people downstairs dressed in burlap start murmuring. Uh-oh, did I say something wrong?

Didn’t the language the girl knows convey the meaning properly? She doesn’t seem foreign…

“Revenge.”

The man answers briefly but loudly enough to silence all the murmurs.

Is this what charisma is?

Well, to rule over heretics, one needs such abilities. But his answering skills are zero points.

How am I supposed to know just from “revenge”?

“I need more details.”

The man falls silent. Uh-oh, did I ask the wrong question? Did I summon correctly using the offering to bring this deity into this body, but failed to speak in the way they expected? Is there some specific cultural habit here?

“First, reveal your true name.”

A strong aura of killing intent fills the air. Are you doubting if I’m really the deity with a curse-laden name?

Too late for proper role-playing now. Let’s go with my true form.

True name, huh?

Did I even have one?

Back when I was human, I had a name, but now I don’t need one.

“I’m cold, so I desire warmth. You are light, so fall already. I’ll wait for you at the bottom. The more you fall, the more I’ll explode. But that’s not enough. Since you summoned me, sure, any name will do. But give me warmth. More, give me warmth. Your cool light is nice, but I want warm light happily living somewhere in this world. Right? You’ll give it, right? You didn’t put me in such a fine vessel just to send me away, right? Hey, what are you looking at? This is my essence, my name. Didn’t I say it already? Right?”

Click.

Wow!

The shackles crumble and fall.

Does this mean they accept me? Or did the shackles just get old and break?

Don’t care. First priority is the fading warmth.

I pass by the man and head downstairs, approaching where corpses are piled up.

Squish.

Blood and meat chunks stick to my feet. There’s still faint warmth. I step on it.

Squish.

Wow! Much warmer light than those who just stared blankly. Various kinds. Some lived happily, others miserably.

Someone even sacrificed themselves voluntarily? Such a waste. You’re too faint, like a water droplet falling into ice. But warmth is warmth.

Hmm, the corpses themselves don’t have warmth. Maybe it’s souls? That feels warm. Since I think they shouldn’t go somewhere immediately after death, this might be remnants of souls.

Wait, does that mean I died once?

Dying and being reborn.

I’ve read about it a lot. But am I really like that? Or am I still trapped in a nightmare? Is my body malfunctioning and dying while I’m seeing this faint hallucination?

It’s okay.

Warmth soothes the mind. Memories are the seasoning.

Squish.

I step on the last pile of corpses.

I lick the light rising up my foot. This person was incredibly rich but enjoyed capturing and dissecting people indiscriminately for fun.

Even such a person feels warm.

Seems warmth isn’t about good or evil.

I climb back upstairs.

Some reward for giving me all that warmth is necessary.

The hard stone chair isn’t comfortable but I have to sit.

Standing on the chair, I look straight at the leader who summoned me.

“Alright, answered your question and got plenty of warmth. Give me the detailed explanation I missed while this heat lasts.”

Oh.

For a moment, the man’s face shows hatred. He’s looking at something alien.

The faded memory of a human man says:

“Is he crazy playing on top of corpses?”

Yeah. But sometimes there’s something more important than being human.

After all, I’m that ordinary human man who fell into nothingness, soaked in bone-chilling cold, desperately craving warmth.

So strictly speaking, I am crazy. Since one cannot understand without experiencing it, the other side will judge me as crazy rather than understanding.

While thinking this and staring at the man, he starts explaining his wish in detail.

“The annihilation of royalty and temple leaders from various countries. And inevitable deaths for all our sect’s revenge targets.”

Hmm…

I get it. The former part isn’t sincere. It’s more like propaganda. What this sect wants.

Meaning, join us if you agree with this opinion.

That’s all he said.

The truth is the latter part.

I can tell from this stone temple. It’s filled with resentment. There are diaries wishing for someone’s death written here.

Well, the kind of person who’d take over someone’s mind in such an unpleasant heretical sect would be someone like that. Though surprisingly numerous.

There must be those who joined for profit, those whose hearts changed, and those distracted by other things.

There’s a problem.

“How will we do it?”

I don’t know how.

All I know is that when I lift myself through the light I touch, a physical explosion occurs.

That’s when it happened.

“You’re not Lord Cruxshibal!”

A man hiding in the shadows of the ceiling fired the ballista aimed at me. Full of anger but no despair. Quite bright light.

Weird.

Originally, I couldn’t reach the distant light, and the light falling after losing much heat after explosions…

It touches my hand.

Even though the ballista shot through my head, tearing off more than half my face, the fact that warmth touched my hand is more important.

Still!

Warm!

Warmth!

I grabbed the warmth.

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