Book 5: Chapter 10-1: The Forbidden Five |
After spending a passionate night with Lucy for the first time in a while, I was sleeping comfortably. And yet…
「Sigh, I didn’t expect you'd even remember one of the sealed "Me".」
I heard the voice of "Me" in my dream. The usual white room. There, I was confronting "Me".
It seemed that “Me” no longer intended to hide it, "Me" appeared in the form of his main personality, Suzina. A thin man in his late thirties. Dressed like a great magician, his robe billowing, he wielded a staff embedded with four colored magic stones.
「What are you talking about?」
「You must have remembered, right? His ability… The ability of the worst “Me”.」
My heart made an unpleasant sound. Yes, when I was talking with Lucy, I remembered a vicious ability from one of my past lives.
「Solute, a specialist in disease and poison. His unique magic allows him to store any disease or poison he has suffered in his body, and at any time, convert his blood into those stored diseases or poisons and release them. Not only that, but he can also modify and even create original diseases and poisons.」
It might sound unimpressive at first. But there was a reason why "Me" had sealed him away. Even the 【Dragon of Destruction that Annihilated the World】, which could obliterate a city in a single blow, wasn’t sealed as securely as Solute.
The 【Silver Dragon of Destruction that Annihilated the World】 could at most destroy a city. If done right, maybe even a country. But his power was “only at that level” compared to Solute. That guy was different. His unique magic could easily destroy all humanity.
「Inside Solute's body, there's a stock of hundreds of types of epidemics, including the Black Death, typhoid, Ebola, cholera, smallpox, and more. Some don't even exist on Earth or in this world. In other words, diseases that no one in this world has antibodies against, and for which there is no cure, he can even create them.」
That's why "Me" sealed him. To make sure he never surfaced again.
The worst thing about him was that, once Solute unleashed his power, even he couldn't stop the destruction. He could create a specific cure or vaccine for the diseases he releases, but once they had mutated, these countermeasures would stop working. These diseases were from another world, as they interacted with this world's environment and other various things they would mutate.
It was possible to keep up an endless game of cat and mouse, continuously developing countermeasures, but whether that would contain the situation was left to chance. Even with the risks associated with it, Solute's power was attractive. You could weaken other nations with a disease, if after that you offer them the cure for it, you could easily gain a strong position for any kind of negotiation. If you repeat this process you could easily become the ruler of the world.
「I know Solute is dangerous. But depending on how you use him, he could be a powerful weapon.」
「All the “Me” that thought that and tried to use Solute’s power ruined themselves without exception. Solute himself ended up making a mistake, lost everything important to him, was crushed by the weight of his sins, and handed his body over to "Me". That power is destruction itself.」
"Me" gave a bitter smile. At the same time, the memories of my past lives who tried to use Solute power flooded into my mind. Some even tried to take countermeasures based on the memories of previous failures, but all ended in the same way; they all ended up drowning in Solute's power and were destroyed. Nausea assaulted me. Because they were my own experiences, even the emotions from that time flowed into me.
「Then why did you let me remember? “Me” should have sealed Solute to prevent precisely that.」
Hearing those words, "Me" flashed a somewhat lonely smile.
「I never intended to release such a thing. But you remembered it by yourself. I said that the memories were sealed, but at most, I'm just hiding the memories in a drawer so as not to let you notice them. I can't erase the other “Me". And…」
"Me"‘s expression became serious.
「The boundary line between "Me" and Cyril (I) is becoming ambiguous. Cyril (I) is absorbing “Me". It's a natural result since "Me" am giving myself to you.」
Hearing that, I started to pale. Am I not myself anymore?
「You don’t have to worry about that. You are the one in control. But, if Cyril (I) continues to absorb "Me", "Me" won't be able to stop Cyril (I) anymore. “Me” won’t be able to restrict your access to the memories. In the end, Cyril (I) will know everything about "Me". If that happens, Cyril (I) will have to resist the temptation of our power with only your own sense and reason.」
I swallowed hard. All my past lives’ experiences and knowledge. That would be a very powerful addition to my arsenal. It was very tempting. However, if misused, it could easily lead to instant ruin.
「Why did this happen?」
「Cyril (I) have been overusing 【Samsara Recursion】. Each time 【Samsara Recursion】 is used, Cyril (I) absorb more and more of “Me”. It was inevitable that this would happen someday. But it has happened far too soon.」
I knew what “Me” was referring to. Lately, I'd been continuously using the dwarf Kuiro. Even without that, I'd been relying on 【Samsara Recursion】too much.
Or perhaps consuming the hero was the problem. The encounter with Ashno might have had some sort of influence too.
「Let me give you one piece of advice. The five individuals “Me” sealed… the criterion for choosing them was… whether they could destroy the world or not. Not just Solute, with his poison and disease. All the remaining individuals are of the same caliber, each one a potential bomb. Remember that.」
I pondered those words deeply. Even if I acquired a new “Me”, I decided not to use it recklessly.
「You're unusually cooperative with your advice today.」
「It's a modest token of gratitude to you (I), for promising not to kill my daughter… Ashno. Besides, after all, I do love this world. The world that I once saved with the woman I love. That's why I want to protect it.」
With that, “Me” waved a hand as if to say the conversation was over, and the white room began to crumble. There was still more I wanted to talk about. As I reached out my hand, thinking this, “Me” simply smiled and did not reply.
For some reason, I had the premonition that I would never be able to have such a conversation with “Me” again.
