"Tch. This isn't fun," the woman muttered, shaking her head an amused scoff escaping her lips. She watched the boy struggle his legs trembling, his back hunched as if the weight of her mere gaze alone was too much for him to bear.
"Can't even stand straight just by being looked at, huh?" she muttered, disappointed.
With a sigh, she exhaled, letting go of the overwhelming aura she had been unconsciously exerting no actually not overwhelming but that near non-existent presence he chilling pressure that had filled the space like black fog dissipated. It was as if gravity itself had loosened its grip.
The space exhaled with her. And so did Razeal.
As if invisible chains were unshackled, Razeal suddenly felt the suffocating pressure lift.
A sudden rush of air filled his lungs. For a moment, he stumbled forward, knees buckling, the ghost of that suffocating pressure still clinging to his spine.
F-f-fuck… He could finally breathe.
"Fhewww..." he whispered aloud, hunched forward with one hand on his knee. He blinked several times, trying to shake off the lingering static in his brain. "Finally free. That... disgusting feeling is gone."
His muscles were still twitching, sweat dripping from his brow, but the fog in his mind was clearing. He grit his teeth, steadied his legs, and straightened his posture with visible effort.
But I have to learn to stay calm. Next time, I might die just of embarissement, he thought, his jaw tightening with frustration. He looked back at her slowly.
She was watching him. Eyes narrowed, lips slightly pursed.
Disappointment was carved across her face like an old scar.
"So useless," she said flatly. "You don't even seem worthy enough for conversation. My boredom would be better relieved talking to Obsidian Agony or maybe just sleep."
The way she spoke name Obsidian Agony. As if the mere thought of that entity brought more pleasure than dealing with the boy in front of her.
She scoffed.
"To think I raised my hopes, even for a second," she added, quieter this time, speaking mostly to herself. "Another human... after trillions of years. And this is what greets me? Pathetic."
Then she sighed, long and slow, her voice drifting like smoke in the stale air. She had a habit clearly of speaking her thoughts aloud, whether anyone was listening or not.
'Obsidian Agony?' Razeal's thoughts stirred.
'What the hell is that? A pet? A creature? Definitely not human if she's referring to me as a "fellow human."' His gaze flicked toward the woman again.
'And… did she just say trillions of years old? What kind of monster even lives that long?'
He swallowed, quietly, and stayed silent.
Tho he remained silent. He'd heard everything. Absorbing the sting of every word. But his face didn't twist or anything. If anything, he stood straighter now. He'd heard worse. Been through worse.
His skin was thicker than the outer walls of the Empire.
'This is nothing,' he thought, not because it didn't hurt but because he had no choice. What could he even do here? Nothing. So, he simply… shrugged it off.
He didn't respond. He just watched her quietly.
She raised an eyebrow at his silence.
"Look, kid," she said at last, her voice soft but sharpened like glass, "I'll give you one question. One answer. Be honest, like a good boy your age should."
Then her eyes narrowed into slits.
"If you lie…" She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You die."
A quiet beat.
She tilted her head slightly, curious. "Although... you don't seem afraid of death. That's strange."
Her gaze roamed his face, analyzing every microexpression, reading the subtle tension in his brows, the tightness in his jaw, the twitch in his eye.
"You were trembling earlier. Shaking because you couldn't handle just looking at me," she said bluntly, as if listing symptoms on a medical chart. "But that wasn't fear of death, was it? No. It was shame. Anger. Powerlessness."
She leaned forward again.
"I didn't feel that usual edge. That survival instinct. That terror. You're uncertain, sure, but you weren't afraid of dying. Not really."
Then, almost to herself: "Weird little creature."
She shifted straight, folding her other leg on other now.
Are all humans these days so obsessed with pride and dignity? Running after things they never had to begin with? Such illusions... it only shows how weak you are. A child ashamed of weakness is just a child who doesn't understand growth. She thought to herself.
Razeal's thoughts churned like a storm.
What a weird way of talking she has… did she just say "good boy"? Does she even know what that means nowadays?'His brow twitched.
What the hell am I thinking? Useless thoughts. I should focus on her question. She's serious… and if I mess up, I might really get turned to ash on the spot. That'd be a waste. The System would just send another poor bastard in my place.'
Before he could gather his thoughts, a familiar, overly dramatic mechanical voice rang inside his mind.
[Yes, host. You are extremely lucky. This villain is what I'd call the "calm and collected" type. I was personally hoping for you to get tortured on your first visit to the Valley of Villains so to experience, but alas... sigh.]
Razeal nearly choked.
Shut. The fuck. Up, he screamed in his head. Do something useful for once instead of giving me useless play-by-play commentary!
He took a breath.
He needed to choose his words carefully. He needed to answer in a way that wouldn't get him killed. And for once, he was actually trying to think... Why was he here? What was the real reason? He was just thinking until
before he could
His lips moved on their own.
He froze.
His voice betrayed him.
"I want you to make me into an idle villain."
The air stilled. Even time seemed to pause for a heartbeat.
Silence.
Heavy, deafening, absolute.
Razeal's eyes widened.
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! YOU DAMN SYSTEM...
'YOU DARE...' His mind screamed in betrayal, the realization hitting hard and fast. His body was still his but the words weren't. That wasn't him talking.
And yet, it was.
The woman stared at him.
Blankly.
Expression unreadable.
And then
Pffft.
A faint chuckle escaped her lips. Dry. Icy. Almost amused… but not quite.
"An idle villain? What even is that supposed to be?"
She slapped a hand over her face, as if even she couldn't contain herself from laughing. And when she did laugh, the world itself seemed to pause falling into an eerie silence, as though existence dared not interrupt such a rare, human moment from her.
Her expression said it all. She wasn't faking it.
She truly found it hilarious.
"What a weirdo... If I were his mother, I'd be utterly embarrassed," she thought to herself, the laughter still spilling uncontrollably from her lips.
She had encountered every kind of lunatic before those who straight-up declared they wanted to be murderers, maniacs obsessed with torture, zealots demanding strength so they could carry out vile acts in the name of power. But this?
This... was new.
Meanwhile, Razeal stood frozen. A breeze brushed past his face, but it felt like a gust trying to carry his humiliated soul away through any possible opening it could find.
'That was soooo cringeyyyyy…' he screamed inside his head, each syllable dragging him closer to the grave. 'Why is this happening? This is torture pure torture!'
Yet on the surface, his face didn't move a muscle. A perfect poker face. A flawless mask of stoic pride.
Finally, after gods-knew-how-long, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and sighed, laughter dying in her throat. "Ahem... hmmm... good. Very good." The words barely escaped her mouth more amused than she'd been in ages.
'Guess I've been alone for too long… Laughing at this kind of nonsense? Really?' she mused to herself, shaking her head with a slight smile.
She leaned forward slightly, resting her elbow on the armrest of her throne.
"I didn't quite catch that. Repeat yourself, kid," she said, her eyes glittering with playful curiosity. She was clearly enjoying this... and craving just a little more.
But this time, Razeal didn't hesitate not even as his cursed system stayed quiet for once.
He clenched his fists, drew a deep breath, and locked eyes with her.
"I want you to make me strong… Teach me." His voice was calm, his gaze unshaken.
'Fuck it. If I die, I die. This is already embarrassing enough let's not drag it out.'
She blinked. Her brief amusement evaporated like mist.
"Teach you? Make you strong?" she muttered, slumping back on her throne as disappointment flooded her face. Her tone dropped cold and flat.
"Again with those boring things…"
Her eyes slowly slid toward him, bored and already disinterested.
"Do you even know who you're talking to, kid?" she asked, not because she wanted an answer, but because she expected him to do the usual: grovel, beg, praise her name like she was some divine entity.
The same overused crap. 'You're the greatest. The strongest. Unrivaled, unmatched. Blah blah blah…' She couldn't even count how many times she'd heard that garbage when she was alive.
But Razeal… just stood there. Silent.
'System, what's her deal? I need her name, titles, anything I should know. Hurry up!' he shouted in his mind, panic creeping in.
[I have none, Host. Only title known is the one I gave you and you already know it.]
'Seriously?! That's it?! That's all?!'
He swallowed hard. The silence thickened. Slowly, uncertainly, Razeal lifted his gaze to her.
'Will she get mad if I admit I don't know who she is?'
It didn't feel like a safe option. Not at all.
'Sure, her title Strongest Mother sounds kind, maybe even gentle but come on. She's a villain. If she wanted, she could vaporize me for breathing wrong…'
'Think, damn it. How do I dodge this?'
She sat there, legs crossed, elbow propped up, looking every bit like a queen toying with a court jester. Her question hadn't even been real. She asked just to remind him of his place.
Who wouldn't know her?
But when she caught the uncertainty on his face the hesitation her amusement vanished.
Her eyes sharpened into narrow slits.
"You… don't know me?" she whispered, voice slowly rising.
"Me? MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?"
Her voice thundered, and the chamber itself trembled with her fury.
"And you have the AUDACITY to come here and ask me to TEACH YOU? HUUUUUUUUH??!"
Razeal blinked.
DING!
[Host, you have died.]
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