-----
The roulette’s arrow landed on, supposedly, the hardest spot it could ever reach randomly, as it covered barely a few centimeters of the entire roulette. It was also the same type of reward that Vlad had received before, which left him, and Chris flabbergasted.
It was an additional background!
Ding!
[Congratulations! You’ve received a Legendary-Grade Additional Background for your character!]
[The background is randomized, and it has already been decided.]
Chris looked at the system messages with nervousness. Although he knew a new Background could give him a new and powerful Trait, it also meant he would also get a Flaw as bad as the Trait good.
And it was Legendary Grade, one of the highest Grades a Background could obtain. Usually, only Randomized Avatars could get such high backgrounds; customized avatars, at most, could get a Rare Grade.
So whatever Chris got, it might be as bad as Vlad’s one.
“Shit…”
“Wait, calm down; it might actually not be so bad. Check what it is.”
“Ah, it’s there!”
Chris pointed at a sphere of golden and silver light that flew towards his chest, fusing into his entire body and combining itself with him.
Visions surged, appearing inside of his mind; it was as if he were experiencing a cinematic scene in a video game, and well, that was what it was.
He saw countless angelic figures flying across the skies, with long, feathered wings and glowing golden halos above their heads.
They had silver-colored eyes and long blonde hair, shining like glittering gold.
They moved across the skies with their various pairs of wings, clashing against an incoming menace, a single being shrouded in eternal darkness and crimson light.
His crimson eyes pierced their souls, but the brave, feathered angel-like beings did not falter, flying and clashing against him.
Hundreds against a single man.
Explosions of light and darkness covered the heavens, twisting their colors and the fabric of space itself.
“You will never defeat me, you pathetic mutts!”
With a tenacious roar, the man, with long black hair like the night and crimson eyes as red as blood, moved directly towards a gigantic golden pagoda.
It floated above the heavens, which the angel-like beings were protecting.
“Heavenly Demon! You will not get past me!”
Chris felt like he was speaking now, with a much stronger, manlier voice, yet that still carried a delicate, feminine charm to it.
A beautiful angelic being with six feathered wings, long blonde hair, and sharp silver eyes clashed against the man.
The Heavenly Demon of the Realm of Murim.
CLASH!
An explosion of light and darkness engulfed the two; the heavens seemed to divide between these two spectrums.
“You’re not bad, you bastard!” laughed the Heavenly Demon, as demonic horns grew from his forehead and black scales started emerging from his skin. “But this is not even my full power!”
“I won’t let you pass, you filthy demonic monster! After slaughtering so many, do you think we’ll let you get to the Heavenly Treasury?!” roared the Archangel-like man. “Over my dead body!”
“Heavenly Emperor!”
“Heavenly Demon!”
Both of their fists and powerful Auras clashed against one another as the two began to kill each other, tearing clothes to shreds as they bled.
Each fist broke each other’s bones, puncturing their skin and tearing through their flesh. The entire world of Murim trembled; a battle between the strongest beings in that realm shook the world and its entire foundations!
RUMBLE!
Eventually, the two were gasping for air, looking at each other with hateful eyes, bleeding, with their legs torn apart and their arms broken and dislocated.
“Hahh… You monster! I won’t let you pass…”
“Let’s see… Who dies first, then!”
With crazed laughter, the Heavenly Demon’s Ki Aura expanded, filling the heavens with eternal darkness and crimson eyes. Thousands of beams of red light rushed towards the Heavenly Emperor.
“You monster…! Your existence is a sin! I won’t forgive you for what you’ve done!”
The Heavenly Emperor expanded his own Ki Aura; the heavens were illuminated with bright light, and golden eyes spread across them all, firing golden and silver beams.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The beams of gold and red light exploded upon contact with one another, their domains shaking and growing weaker as they destroyed each other’s own foundations.
“Just die already, you feathered bastard!”
“I won’t let you do as you please!”
The Heavenly Demon rushed forward, summoning a black spear out of his own powers, as if he materialized his own darkness into pure black steel.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The spear pierced the Heavenly Emperor’s chest, and he vomited blood before he could even reach his eternal foe.
“Ugh…! Y-You…!”
He gritted his teeth, but he could no longer muster the strength to fight anymore.
“It looks like you were nothing but a wimp at the end.”
With maniac laughter, the Heavenly Demon mocked the Heavenly Emperor, flying into the skies and taking with himself the Heavenly Treasury before hundreds more angelic-like people attacked him at once.
The Heavenly Emperor fell from the skies, his lifeforce fading away rapidly. He felt frustrated as the Heavenly Demon slaughtered the remaining soldiers and escaped with the Heavenly Treasury.
His sacrifice, and everyone else’s...
Was in vain.
“Aah!”
Chris suddenly came back to his senses, feeling agitated; that whole cinematic scene was more like a dream as he woke up from the floor, gasping for air.
“Are you alright?! You passed out for a few seconds there." Vlad said. “That never happened to me when I got a secondary background.”
“Aah, I guess it might be because I got the short end of the stick,” sighed Chris. “I think I know which background I have. And surprise, it’s probably very similar to yours…”
“Wait, what? Similar to mine?!”
Paul was shocked; he didn’t want to guess what it could be, but he was already guessing anyway!
“Yes, and—ah.”
Chris quickly noticed the flood of system messages.
[Congratulations, Player Alitheus Lilithie! You’ve been assigned a {Legendary-Grade Background} for your Character!]
[Your new background is called {The Heavenly Emperor Reincarnates}!]
[You’re the Heavenly Emperor that once protected and brought order to the Realm of Murim, becoming a beacon of hope for all people in the Realm.]
[However, in a battle to protect the Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Treasury from the Heavenly Demon’s claws, you were slain by his Black Heaven Cursed Spear.]
[As you died pitifully against the claws of that monster, your soul harbored the deadly curse of the Heavenly Demon, forcing you to reincarnate with past grudges and become an unholy demonic being instead of your former, angelic form.]
[Because of this Curse, you were reincarnated as a half-incubus and half-fairy boy, kicked out of his house, with no mother or father, and with a cursed existence that requires draining the lifeforce of other living beings to survive; your existence couldn’t be more pitiful.]
“Woah, so I’m like this for a curse your past life set on me? What the hell kind of background is this?” Chris laughed.
Paul was still trying to process what he was even talking about.
[Yet, as the former Heavenly Emperor, you simply couldn’t let that fact upset you! You might have lost almost everything, but the knowledge of your past life remains within your soul as the Heavenly Library. By accessing it, you will be able to relearn former techniques and harness your Holy Ki like before.]
“Ah, of course! So you get the Heavenly Treasury, but I get the Heavenly Library? A bit samey…” Chris sighed. “I can’t complain though~”
[The Heavenly Library within your soul is contained inside a golden and silver sphere; it looks cracked and damaged, but it is still the same as before.]
[“This is... My Heavenly Core?!”]
[The Heavenly Core you cultivated in your previous life has somehow remained after your reincarnation, but it has grown severely weakened.]
[By cultivating it and feeding it with all kinds of compatible resources, you will be able to regain your Holy powers and once again become the Heavenly Emperor!]
“So aside from the Spirit Magic, I even obtain Holy Power? Now that’s nice.” Chris smiled. “Maybe I could become a real threat in Obscuritas, where everyone is weak to the holy light element.”
[With the {Heavenly Library} and the {Heavenly Core}, become stronger and show all those who have looked down on you who you really are!]
[And perhaps use this second chance at life to find yourself a handsome husband.]
“Handsome… husband?”
Chris' eyebrows twitched cutely.
[The secret that the Heavenly Emperor never revealed to anybody]
[He was gay.]
[And he always fantasized about marrying a handsome, manly, tall, and strong man who could hold him like a princess…]
[Despite his persona as a mighty Emperor with no equal within heaven, he had a much softer side inside of his heart, a man who wanted to be treated kindly and with love.]
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
[Hidden Requirement: For the Curse left behind inside your Soul to not propagate and completely destroy it, you must embrace your feelings and find a husband. Only when your Heavenly Core completely attunes with your deepest feelings and the love you feel for that other person will it completely heal your soul from the deadly curse left behind.]
[Hidden Requirement Timing: 365 Days.]
[If you don’t fulfill the Hidden Requirement in time, your character’s soul will be completely corrupted by the curse, and you will become a Cursed Fallen Angel, losing control over your Avatar and bringing destruction to the Realms.]
“W-Wait, isn’t this a bit similar to yours? Lol…” Chris didn’t take this as seriously as Paul, showing it to him in detail.
“W-What the hell?” muttered Chris. “This means… so you got the background of the Heavenly Emperor?!”
“This is too much of a coincidence now! Is this because I’ve interacted with you? Was there such a hidden condition? Fuck…” Chris sighed. “It doesn’t ask me to find a cute male bride, though; it asks for a manly husband too!”
Actually, Chris was kind of annoyed about it but wasn’t upset; it seemed he didn’t actually mind the entire fact, but he still found it bothersome and stupid.
“It looks even more dangerous than mine; you’ll become a Fallen Angel? What? Your Avatar might end up becoming some sort of Boss for the game…” laughed Paul. “Now this is hilarious, haha!”
“Hey, why are you laughing at my misfortune?! We’re in the same boat here, dude!” Chris pouted slightly angrily, hitting Vlad’s chest with his small fists.
BAAM!
“Guh?!”
And Vlad vomited blood, almost feeling his ribs break.
“Ugh… Why did you do that…”
Vlad ended up falling to his knees.
“Right, you’re super weak, lol… Sorry dude,” Chris sighed. “Maybe I could heal you? What did I even get as a Trait or Flaw though?”
Chris looked at his Status with some interest.
-----
[Player Name]: [Alitheus Lilithie]
[Titles]: [Troublemaking Brat]
[Lust Stigma]: [Energy Absorption Realm (Tier 1: Rank 4)]
[Heavenly Core]: [Shattered Holy Core Realm (Tier 1: Rank 1)]
[Race]: [Half-Incubus (Fairy)]
[Class]: [Mischievous Demon: ★]
[Subclass]: [None]
[Sin Power]: [1.800]
[Strength]: [580]
[Arcana]: [700]
[Vitality]: [1.400]
[Dexterity]: [1.300]
[Charm]: [2.450]
[Character Background Traits]: [Fairy Spirit Heart (Legendary Grade)] [Heavenly Emperor’s Soul (Legendary Grade)]
[Character Background Flaws]: [Insatiable (Legendary Grade)] [The Lonely Emperor’s Last Wish (Legendary Grade)]
[Racial Skills (4/5)]
[Flight (B): Lv3] [Dream Eater (A): Lv1] [Charming Aura (B): Lv2] [Lifeforce Stealing Attack (B): Lv2]
[Class Skills (2/5)]
[Illusionist (B): Lv2] [Shenanigans (C): Lv3]
[Subclass Skills (1/5)]
[Detailed Observation (D): Lv2]
-----
“I got the Holy Core thingy... Ah, and there they are... Look, Paul!” Chris showed Paul his status.
“Hmm, I see...” nodded Paul. “Wait, what?! The Traits and Flaws names are the same as mine! But yours is the Heavenly Emperor... It feels like by being friends, we somehow got the hidden condition for you to inherit it. It feels like both backgrounds are interconnected.”
“Hmmm, yeah,” Chris nodded.
“But do you have a voice speaking inside your head?” Paul asked.
“Wait, what? No? I am not a schizophrenic for that. Chris raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be dumb-”
[Good heavens! What sort of vocabulary is that my young incarnation? Could you please refrain from speaking so vulgarly?]
“Huh?”
Chris was unable to process the voice he just heard.
[Yes, as your former self, I naturally remain within your soul as a split Ego of sorts… But that does not matter at the moment! What truly matters is for you to regain your former strength, and—ah, that man in front of you—he’s really quite handsome.]
“No way… This is not real…”
[But besides that point, I would recommend you begin your cultivation right away! If you enlighten yourself inside the Heavenly Library and then do some good deeds, you will be able to absorb the Hope, Gratitude, and Happiness of people as you help them, which will enhance your Core’s growth and-]
“Yep, there’s a voice inside my head.”
Chris looked at Vlad in the eyes.
Both sighed as Vlad patted Chris’ shoulders.
“You’ll get used to it.”
-----