Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Despite absorbing a substantial amount of blood from Eren, Reen's form remained somewhat unstable.

It seemed that the demonic soul fragment within Reen was unable to fully occupy the vessel due to its inadequate strength.

"Hmm? What might be the issue here?" Eren pondered to himself, scratching his chin. He wasn't concerned that Reen's artifact creation would fail. After becoming a demi-god, he possessed enough confidence in his ability to complete the task, regardless of the challenges that arose.

However, Eren desired Reen's transformation into an Elder Seed Artifact to be flawless without any lingering anomalies. Unlike the case with the demonic saber, he sought perfection in Reen's transformation.

"I... I think I know what she needs, Eren," Alephee finally concluded as she examined Reen's unstable form.

"Your blood… the Elder Ichor… it is not close to its original genesis. So it's still not completely compatible with Reen's soul. Or rather, it is not compatible with the goddess' soul fragment to whom it truly belongs.

That's not the only problem we have, though. I think the soul fragment is subconsciously trying to merge with where she came from. She does not want to live a fragmented life away from her original form," Alephee explained, looking a bit stressed.

Eren raised his eyebrows upon hearing Alephee's theory. After some contemplation, he posed a question in return.

"So you're saying I need to convince her to stay here with me to get anchored to her vessel? That's a little mean considering what I have done for her, don't you think? I basically destroyed my homeworld to get her. What else can I convince her with?"

Eren sighed as he looked at Reen's unstable form. He wondered if his curse was at play here. While he was sure that he could convince Reen to stay with him, he also wanted her to make that choice for herself.

Yet, if her unconscious form couldn't access the soul fragment's memories as Reen, it was only natural that it wouldn't recognize Eren and seek to leave this world to return to its origin. Eren could understand the nuances behind the problem, but it still didn't make him feel any better about the current situation.

***

"You know how intent-based magic is, Eren," Alephee smiled mirthlessly before continuing. "It is unpredictable. And even the slightest change in one's emotions can affect the end result. This is even more so when it comes to immortal magic, which is considered the pinnacle of intent-based magic," Alephee said while adding a few more runic circles to the Array Eye containing Reen's unstable form.

"I don't think Reen needs any convincing to stay with you," Alephee said, confirming Eren's assumptions.

"However, the alter ego of a goddess and that of Reen are two different things. The slumbering consciousness of the goddess has no attachments to this world or Reen's vessel because she had been slumbering ever since she entered the world of Anfang.

Reen does not have control over self anymore. It's her who's sleeping now, letting her alter ego take charge.

You could say that she did not have any connection to the memories and experiences that Reen had. So you need to find a way for either Reen to awake from her slumber or make her share her memories and experiences with the soul fragment of the goddess. I'm sure the artifact creation will succeed if these conditions are met," Alephee said.

Eren knew that immortal magic worked on the same principles as the Divine Edicts. After all, the Divine Edicts were also a form of immortal magic. It meant that immortal magic had no set rules or definitions. The caster of such magic could wield it effortlessly if they spoke a few words with the right intentions.

However, sometimes, one would struggle to find the right words to express how they feel, even though they knew what they were feeling. Sometimes, it was difficult to explain one's thoughts about themselves or others around them. And that's where the difficulty in wielding immortal magic came from.

"How should I resolve these problems then? I just broke into the Grandmaster Rank. My blood is as close to Genesis as it could be," Eren said while looking in Alephee's direction.

By this point, Reen's form was about to disperse into nothingness. Eren did not want to compromise on Reen's artifact creation in any way now that he had come this far. However, if push came to shove, he would have to consider forcing his will on this project of his.

"I don't know how to solve this problem either, Eren," Alephee said and sighed before continuing. "I just diagnosed the issue. You are the wielder of the immortal magic now. It's your job to figure it out. Just follow your heart."

"Follow my heart, huh?" Eren mumbled to himself, echoing Alephee's words as he blankly stared at Reen's unstable form. He was attempting to connect with his emotions at this point.

"Follow my heart." Eren placed the palm of his right hand over his chest, feeling the rhythm of his own heartbeats. He closed his eyes and listened to the steady beat.

"Seek and ye shall find," Eren said to himself before opening his eyes. In the next moment, it was evident that his vision was filled with a sense of clarity and determination.

Blitz. Pierce. Pull.

In a bizarre turn of events, Eren used his own lightning-mana-coated right hand to pierce his chest. He created a gaping hole in his solar plexus before grabbing onto his own heart. With one swift motion, he pulled the organ out by severing its veins and other connections.

The butcher performed this self-mutilation so precisely and correctly that there was practically no blood around the gaping wound he had created in his torso. In the next moment, the Wrath Domain deployed on its own before dispersing once again.

Eren's face had turned red due to the severe injury he had caused to himself. However, he did not let the feeling of pain contort his face. Instead, he maintained a stoic look as he pulled out his own heart and examined it with keen eyes.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

The heart was still beating.

"Let my beating heart, evil as it may be, convince you to stay here," Eren said, letting his thumping heart float towards the Array Eye in which Reen's form was.

"Let my heartblood become the anchor you need to come back to me," Eren said intently as he transplanted his heart into Reen's form. gm