This Time, I Will Live For Myself

As Venfir was thinking about the purpose of his life, the sky suddenly darkened, and an enormous pressure descended upon him, making him feel as though he were being crushed by a thousand tons.

He felt as if every bone in his body was about to turn into powder while he struggled to even breathe.

The voice spoke in his mind again, but this time it was cold and emotionless.

"Do you have any idea who you are speaking to? Just because I am talking to you amicably, do you think you can speak to me however you please? Let me make this clear once and for all, so get it through your head."

"If it wasn't for the pendant you had on yourself, I wouldn't have even noticed that an insignificant bug like you even existed. And if you annoy me any further, I'll erase your insignificant existence without a second thought. So just be glad that I am in a good mood right now; don't test your luck any further."

The pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Venfir gasping for air on the ground while his whole body ached with pain.

His mind buzzed the whole time under that relentless pressure, and now that it had vanished, the buzzing had slowly begun to fade.

Venfir slowly opened his eyes. His body still ached, his mind still buzzed, and his eyes were still bloodshot due to it, but there was not even an ounce of fear in them.

Venfir remained silent for a while, and even the voice did not return to his head. After about ten minutes, he stood up and looked at his surroundings.

Most of the houses had already burned down to piles of rubbles, but there were still some that were still burning, though the flames had started to die. By the looks of it, a few hours had clearly passed since the attack.

After taking in the absolute devastation of the surroundings, Venfir slowly moved toward the corpse of his parents, or what was left of them. Tears had already streamed down his face uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning as he walked. So, without even considering whether he might get a reply, he spoke out:

"I don't want to become strong. But if you can bring my parents back, I promise you whatever you want."

He waited, desperation as well as hope clinging to his every breath.

Though he didn't have to wait for a long time to get the reply.

"Sorry, kid, but I could only bring you back because you had it just a few seconds ago, but more so because you were wearing that pendant, which had a very strong soul-preservation rune carved on it. But they had died a long time ago."

The voice paused for a bit but then continued to speak.

"When someone dies, their souls disperse pretty quickly unless something keeps them tethered. You can use your soul energy, but for that you have to be strong enough, and I can say that no one in the world that you are is even remotely close to that."

"There is another possibility, and that is if the soul has a strong enough emotion. It doesn't matter if it is anger, affection, greed, or any other emotion; what matters is that it must be very powerful. Even then, there are limits, and without the system, it becomes even harder."

After hearing that, Venfir stood in his place, dazed, as his last shred of hope crumbled like ash.

"Isn't there any other way?" Venfir pleaded.

"You're so powerful; you must know something. I'll do whatever it takes. If you want, I'll even become your slave. Just bring them back!"

Venfir broke down, sobbing as he begged the voice.