Re-Awakening: I Became a Pay To Win Boss Monster-Chapter 783: Determined?

"...What?"

"I said, who decided that?" Anastasia repeated, then narrowed her eyes.

"You’re the one I chose as my rival, and so you must grow stronger to eventually fight against me."

Sometimes, Rael felt like solving a Rubik’s cube might be a little easier than understanding a woman.

Who in their right mind would continue this stupid rivalry, especially since Rael wasn’t even that guy?

"Listen... Anastasia. I won’t question your sanity for my own sake, but tell me something. Do you think you’ll feel satisfied after we fight, knowing the person who you actually hold a grudge against is just out there somewhere?"

She didn’t reply. Instead, she walked back to the throne and sat down. When she crossed her legs nonchalantly, Rael understood that she wasn’t going to see reason.

And since he wasn’t a part-time therapist, Rael didn’t want to argue with her about this any longer.

As it stood, he could probably tussle with her here and defeat her. It sure as shit wouldn’t be difficult if he hit her with a galaxy or two.

But then again, why should he do that?

He knew that their battle would end in one’s death.

Rael didn’t want to die, and he didn’t want to kill Anastasia either.

In the end, Rael felt like the only right option here was just to keep quiet and hope that time passes and she grows into being a part-time queen.

Though, right as Rael was about to walk past her to go upstairs to the star, she spoke up.

"Rael, do you ever wonder what happens to souls after they get erased?"

"I’m not very poetic when it comes to existential questions," Rael replied plainly.

"It’s fine. I just want a plain answer," Anastasia insisted.

Hearing that, Rael decided to just give her exactly what she wanted.

"I mean, if a soul gets erased, I’m sure it just disappears completely. Unlike life after death and reincarnation, a soul’s destruction counts as absolute death. At least, that’s how I see it in my unprofessional opinion."

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"I see... In that case, could you answer another one of my questions?"

Really...

Since when was she this talkative?

"Shoot."

"How can I tell if this reality is actually real?"

"...?"

She lowered her head slightly.

"Every time I look back to the past and remember the time I had when I still thought that Lucien was my child, the world seemed so innocent, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Then, she raised her head again, meeting his gaze with trembling eyes.

"But when I found out that Lucien wasn’t actually my child, and that I was tricked all this time... it felt like my memories unveiled completely. All the clues I’ve missed before clicked into place, and all the inconsistencies I had previously felt in my life were solved."

Right as Rael was reaching the peak of his confusion, she finished:

"I’m feeling some inconsistencies. I have ever since I descended into this world. I don’t know if it’s just me being paranoid, or if someone’s controlling me like Lucien had... but since you’re someone who deals with the mind, is it possible for you to figure out what’s happening?"

At those words, Rael just stared at her for a moment.

Truthfully, he couldn’t really understand her struggles that well, as he never had to experience what she did. At most, he and Anastasia teamed up in her Mind Realm.

The outcome was interesting, to say the least.

However, Rael also knew how to take a hint, especially when that hint was given by a being of such caliber.

"Do you think there’s a chance Lucien’s controlling everyone even now?"

She paused, then slowly nodded.

Even though she didn’t say anything else, Rael understood that her uneasiness was built from experience.

And for that reason, Rael decided to walk up to her and smile slightly.

"Why don’t we head upstairs and watch a movie?"

"Is this your attempt at making me feel better?" Anastasia asked.

"I guess you could call it a way, of sorts. Yeah." Rael chuckled and held out his hand.

Anastasia stared at his hand for a moment, then finally accepted it and stood up.

With that, Rael led her behind the throne, and after pressing just one button, he found himself at the very top, standing in front of his mansion alongside Anastasia.

It was nice to hang out with the people he was close to.

But he was also saddened that he had neglected so many people.

For one, there was Evelyn, who Rael had no clue where she went.

He made her a sword saint, and honestly... he would love to reconnect.

The same went for Linlin.

She was the first person Rael actually met in this world.

If anything... he held a certain fondness for her and the group she had.

It almost made him emotional how much he progressed without looking back at those who actually pushed him to go this far.

So many people...

So many connections... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

If only he hadn’t prioritized power and actually made those connections worth something.

But maybe it wasn’t too late.

After all, in the real world, only around 8 months had passed since he got to this world.

Canonically, everything had been moved up, but the people were still there, alive and well.

"..."

I really need to catch up with all of them, Rael thought with a determined look and entered his mansion.

Anastasia still blankly held onto his hand, lost in her own thoughts.

So he led her into the kitchen, sat her down, and decided to cook up some food for once. He went for something simple, a cheese pizza that only took 20 minutes to prepare.

Albeit, he did cheat by buying some pre-raised dough.

But it was whatever.

It didn’t make the pizza any less delicious... or so he would hope.

Once the pizza was ready, Rael set it down on the marble table and sat down opposite Anastasia.

He pushed over the plate of pizza to her and smiled.

And as if she finally warmed up, Anastasia reached out and grabbed a slice before finally stuffing it into her mouth.