"Yes! Your other self!
The one who fought with Zarveth was your other self!"
Nux answered proudly, as if his words made perfect sense to everyone present here but—
"…huh?"
Sharnoth blinked. Now she was even more confused. Not just her, the other won were confused as well, especially Lane.
"Her other self…?"
She muttered, pointing at Shadow, who no longer looked like her other self at all. Nux turned towards Lane, knowing exactly what she was thinking, and shook his head—
"No, this isn't the sa case as yours.
It is much simpler."
"Simpler…?"
Lane muttered softly.
"Mhm."
Nux nodded.
"There have been similar cases in the past, quite a few actually. It is usually known as split personality."
"Split Personality?"
"Mhm, two personalities sharing the sa body."
Nux nodded. He then turned towards Sharnoth and—
"In your case, your current personality is much stronger."
"Are you saying… there is another being living inside …?"
Sharnoth tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, theoretically… you are the one living in her body."
Nux corrected casually and Sharnoth…
"What…?"
She felt like her world was falling apart. Nux then looked into her eyes and—
"Answer honestly, how much of your past do you truly rember?"
"My past…?"
"Your life back in Nocthys, then your ti in Aurendor, and the ti after Zylarith—how much do you rember?"
Nux asked in more detail.
"Do you rember your mother's face? Your father's face? The subordinates who worked for your family? The traitors who turned to the enemy the mont your father fell? Do you rember everything?"
"I… rember my mother's face…"
Sharnoth answered, her voice, however, was oddly low.
"Do you?"
Nux narrowed his eyes.
"Can you draw her for ?"
"…I do not rember it that accurately."
"What about your father?"
Nux questioned and Sharnoth slowly shook her head.
She did not rember.
And Nux did not even bother asking about the subordinates. Sharnoth was quite close to her father and mother. If she didn't even rember their faces, then the subordinates were obviously out of the question.
The rest of the won stared at Sharnoth, a little taken aback, and Sharnoth felt compelled to explain herself.
"All of that was more than a hundred thousand years ago. It is obvious I won't rember everything in detail!"
However, instead of answering her question, Nux waved his hand. The Energy of Genesis gathered, forming a clone of a being from his mories—
"What about him? Do you rember him?"
He questioned, staring at Sharnoth, and her expression turned grim.
"He raped my mother thirteen tis."
The answer ca automatically. It surprised even her. After all, this happened a hundred thousand years ago as well…
To think she rembered this face and everything he did as if the mory was fresh in her head—
It… it made no sense, especially when she couldn't even picture her mother, the one who was suffering through everything this man did.
"What about the ti you spent with Zylarith? How much of that do you rember?"
Nux asked another question, and this ti, Sharnoth turned silent. She had never thought about it before since everything felt so natural, but now…
It didn't.
Did Zylarith do sothing to her?
She wondered in her head.
"Answer the question, Sharnoth."
And as if knowing her mind was distracted, Nux spoke up, pulling her out of her reverie.
"I… I rember the ti when I acted as a rcenary and gathered allies, later taking over Khaemorr and everything after that…"
Sharnoth answered after giving it a thought. It was quite strange. Her mory before this ti was so blurry that, other than a small overview of what she actually did, she did not rember anything at all. Her mind could not recall even a single beast out of the hundreds of thousands she had killed.
And surprisingly enough, everything changed after she beca a rcenary and started gathering allies. From here on out, she rembered every detail, every face she t, everything she did—clearly.
It was almost as if… soone had ssed up her mories before that ti. Other than everything that happened in Aurendor, she did not rember most of the things or had a very blurry mory of what she did.
"Makes sense."
Nux nodded to himself. The more he heard her talk, the more assured he grew. Sharnoth and the rest of the won stared at Nux, waiting for an explanation, and he began.
"Sharnoth was born with Darkness Elent. That elent was then forcibly taken from her, and her body was changed into sothing capable of handling a completely different form of Energy.
All of this doesn't co without a cost, and this is especially true for Energy as strong as Chaos."
"So her true self…"
Lane muttered, slowly understanding what happened, and Nux nodded at her words as he turned towards Sharnoth—
"The Energy of Chaos affected your mind. It made you more… chaotic. You started loving chaos—everything that caused more chaos—you started loving them.
Thus, your love for battle was born.
The more difficult the battle, the more you loved it, and the stronger you beca. There were even tis where you defeated beasts you shouldn't be able to defeat at all.
Your progress beca scarily fast, and seeing this progress, Zylarith didn't stop you either. He allowed you to do whatever you wanted, so your crazy self went all out, sotis even challenging beasts with higher cultivation than yours and returning completely battered up.
If it weren't for Zylarith constantly following you, you would have died thousands of tis because you participated in battles you couldn't win.
That was how reckless you were."
"That… doesn't sound like ."
Sharnoth answered in a low voice.
"Because it is not you."
Nux replied, and Sharnoth stared at him, waiting for him to explain.
"Surprised by your progress, Zylarith allowed you to go all out. However, he also knew this couldn't continue. He could help you here in a Dead World where no one could see the two of you, but once you returned to the Universe and revealed your existence—
It wouldn't be the sa.
Because of Zylarith's condition, he couldn't appear and protect you as often as he normally does.
He had to suppress your nature, and the way to do that was simple—as much as you loved battles, what truly drove you forward was your thirst for revenge, and he told you that unless you suppress your true nature and beco a calm, level-headed being capable of making quick and correct decisions in any situation, you wouldn't be able to get your revenge.
And those words changed you."
Sharnoth narrowed her eyes. Again, she did not recall this conversation at all. However, Nux, who had seen her mories, knew everything in detail—
"You started suppressing your true self. Instead of challenging yourself, you began targeting opponents you could defeat. You 'killed' your love for battle, and you did it for so long that you 'killed' yourself and were turned into… soone else."
"Soone else…"
Sharnoth muttered those words.
She knew who this 'soone else' was.
A calm, level-headed being who tries to make quick and correct decisions in most situations. A being who chooses her opponent wisely and only acts when she is sure of her victory—
It was her.
The current her.
"So I… took over the real 's body…"
Sharnoth muttered in a weak voice.
"Well, it was sothing the real you chose to do.
As I said, calling her the real you or your true self is incorrect.
She is your other self—a self who decided to hide herself for both of your revenge."
Nux explained. Sharnoth nodded at his words and passed a small, forced smile. She couldn't just ignore everything she had heard. Thinking about how her body wasn't exactly hers… she didn't know how to feel about it.
"Also—"
Suddenly, Nux called out.
"You didn't exactly 'take over' your other self. She isn't gone. She is still here."
Those words attracted Sharnoth's attention as she quickly recalled where this all began—
"So the one who fought Zarveth…"
"Mhm, that was your other self. And trust when I say this—she was indeed a monster through and through.
I saw Zarveth's mories, specifically of his battle with you, and I felt his emotions clearly.
He was scared.
One of the strongest Eternals in all of the Universe was scared of you."
"He was scared of my other self."
Sharnoth clarified.
"That is you. You just… do not have a normal relationship with her."
"…"
Sharnoth didn't know what to say about it.
"So… how does it work?"
Suddenly, Amaya asked a question.
"How do she and her other self switch? They aren't present all the ti, right? She cannot talk to her other self. Or would she be able to do that in the future?
Would she have a second body as well?"
This was what the Devourer was worried about the most.
She already knew Sharnoth was going to join them whether she liked it or not—it was all set in stone. She wanted to know if they would need to pointlessly add another one into the mix just like they did before.
The woman stared at Lane and Shadow and then—
"Tsk."
She snorted before turning towards Nux, waiting for an answer, and Nux just laughed.
He could literally look into her eyes and tell what she was thinking—it was that apparent.
His Devourer was indeed adorable.
"No, Sharnoth won't have two bodies.
She would need to share the one she has with her other self.
So stop eyeing Lane and Shadow like that."
"Good."
The Devourer nodded.
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