Chapter 650
Selene: Mother!
“Lily, are you okay?”
Eivass crouched beside Lily, who was staring blankly, with some anxiety.
He first extended his left arm, propping up Lily’s neck as she lay in the bathtub, preventing her from suddenly slipping to drown or hitting the back of her head. He gently touched her forehead with his right hand, using the perception of the Path of Devotion to sense her life force.
“…Strange.”
Eivass frowned, murmuring to himself.
Because he didn’t sense any problems.
In his perception, Lily’s body was healthy, her spirit active, and her mana surging—she could even be said to be in a state of excitement. Yet, her breathing was remarkably calm and long, like someone in a light sleep.
For a healer, finding a problem would not be a problem; not being able to find one was the biggest problem.
Eivass pondered for a moment, then suspended his index finger in front of Lily’s eyes, which emitted a faint radiance. He saw Lily’s pupils constrict slightly, but her head did not turn away, nor did she close her eyes on her own.
“Master, Master…”
Just then, the newly born Selene, incredibly clingy, snuggled closer.
She murmured, lifting her head to gently bite and chew on Eivass’s finger, licking the residual blood from his hand.
At this moment, the wound on Eivass’s arm had already begun to heal, and the bleeding had completely stopped. Selene’s incredibly demonic dark red pupils exuded an evil aura.
Selene’s bite on Eivass’s finger grew stronger, and soon Eivass felt pain. He frowned slightly and pulled his finger out of Selene’s mouth. But Selene, like a dog deprived of its food, thrust her head forward and clamped down forcefully on Eivass’s forearm.
“Selene!”
Eivass frowned slightly and rebuked her in a low voice.
In that instant, he clearly saw a look of fear and apprehension flash across Selene’s face.
Strangely, just then Lily’s body suddenly twitched. Eivass’s left arm sensed the muscles in her neck tensing, her heartbeat intensifying, her chest heaving violently, and her breathing becoming rapid.
…Could it be that “too many Lilys” had entered a new body, leaving the old one hollowed out?
Or rather…
Eivass noticed the umbilical cord connecting the two girls.
He awkwardly cut the umbilical cord connecting them.
At that moment, both Lily and Selene’s bodies vibrated intensely, and a look of lingering fear appeared on their faces simultaneously. Lily blinked suddenly, tears beginning to stream down her face; Selene’s murky, demonic horizontal pupils gradually cleared, regaining their senses and returning to human round pupils, though their color remained a dark red, like red wine.
“Eivass… Young Master… I…”
Lily sat up from the edge of the bathtub, speaking with a hoarse voice that was somewhat slurred and intermittent.
It was as if she had suddenly forgotten how to use her own body.
At the same time, Selene also spoke, “Eivass… Young Master… I…”
Their words overlapped, then abruptly stopped.
They sat in the bathtub, facing each other, looking into each other’s eyes.
They simultaneously raised their left and right hands, placing them into each other’s palms. It was like a person holding a mirror and clasping hands with their reflection in the mirror.
They looked at each other synchronously, then slightly turned their gazes to Eivass beside them—and at this moment, they finally showed a moment of discord. After Lily’s gaze met Eivass’s, she shyly lowered her head and covered herself with her hands, while Selene proudly puffed out her chest and gave Eivass a bright, brilliant smile like a puppy.
“…Did this ritual truly succeed?”
Eivass frowned slightly, looking at Lily and Selene.
The good news was that Lily had regained her reason and consciousness, so at least he didn’t need to attempt to rescue her or stop the ritual. The bad news was… the current situation seemed different from what they had agreed upon.
Rather than separating Lily’s other personality, it was more like Lily was controlling two bodies with different instincts simultaneously.
“Actually…”
Lily hesitated for a moment.
Selene then said, “It should have failed.”
“My consciousness was completely suppressed just now, but now it seems like she is the one being suppressed,” Lily said.
“She can completely control this body,” the current “Selene” said. “Rather, I don’t think I should be able to control this body belonging to the Path of Love…”
“And likewise, she is completely unable to control my body,” Lily continued.
They seemed to be training their ability to control two bodies with one consciousness separately.
Hearing this, Eivass turned his gaze to Selene.
This black-haired, red-eyed girl had features completely different from Lily’s, not even inheriting a single trait from her. Yet, she always made Eivass feel a sense of familiarity. But Eivass couldn’t quite pinpoint where he had seen this face before.
However, other than her face, she had completely different characteristics—she was clearly much paler than Lily.
Perhaps it was because she had just been born from the ritual, but Selene had the whitest skin Eivass had ever seen. It was so pale it almost seemed bloodless, radiating a pure white glow like jade.
Her features were even more delicate than Lily’s, with a subtle hint of Eastern features, making her look like a mixed-race individual. Her hair was also softer than Lily’s… The biggest differences were in her shoulders and chest; Selene’s shoulders were at least two sizes narrower than Lily’s, while her chest was disproportionately full.
After staring at Selene for a while, Eivass suddenly thought of something.
“Wait a moment, I have an idea. I’ll try…”
He took the mirror from his embrace and pointed it at his face.
Eivass began to chant in a low voice:
“I invoke the Twin Mirror! God of Sacred Number Two, God without Eyes, God without Self, God of Pure Beauty—
“I am you…”
As the mirror’s surface glowed, the Eivass within the mirror shattered, revealing the form of a young girl.
Then, the Eivass reflected in the mirror and the Eivass outside the mirror reversed.
Another young, tender voice overlapped with his, saying, “You are me—”
Eivass remained within the mirror, but the Eivass outside the mirror transformed into a girl with waist-length black hair, a slender build, and clear emerald-like pupils.
It was the fourteenth form, born as a Child of the Moon.
She approached Selene, raised her hand, and using the small makeup mirror in her hand, captured both of them in the frame.
However, the mirror only showed the male Eivass from before, smiling and waving at the reflection.
“Number Fourteen” waved her hand irritably, closing and reopening the mirror.
This time, the mirror finally displayed the correct reflection.
Undoubtedly.
Number Fourteen and Selene’s appearances were extremely similar—though not to the point of being identical twins. But if the two walked together, outsiders would readily mistake them for sisters.
Of course, compared to Number Fourteen, who looked like just a little girl, Selene, who had been growing since her “birth” until she reached Lily’s age, appeared more like the elder sister—she had already fully developed, looking at least in her twenties.
Selene also saw the scene in the mirror.
Without hesitation, she hugged Number Fourteen, almost dragging her into the water. Amidst her frantic cries of “Hey, hey, hey!”, Selene exclaimed aloud, “Mother!”
“…Huh?”
Number Fourteen was stunned.
But Selene placed a hand on her chest and said with utmost seriousness and sincerity, “This body of mine was born from your flesh and blood…”
Selene then immediately leaned in.
Her original round pupils had, at some unknown time, transformed back into rectangular horizontal pupils like a lamb’s.
“—Undoubtedly, you are the mother who gave me life… Master.
“You are my mother.”
Selene said stubbornly, her pupils filled with intense affection.
(End of Chapter)
