Gul finally understood why the Ancient One claimed he was an outsider. It turned out the Ancient One had long realized that his soul and body were different.
"What... is this?" Gul suddenly discovered a dark substance entwined around his soul. Though unsure of its nature, Gul felt distinctly uneasy, sensing it could be a harmful substance with potential adverse effects.
"It's an obsession," the Ancient One replied.
"Obsession?"
"Yes, indeed. This should be the obsession left behind by the original owner of this body. Even though they may have passed away and their soul has dissipated, remnants of it still linger within the body, now merging with your soul," explained the Ancient One.
"The original owner?" Gul was taken aback, feeling a twinge of guilt. However, he quickly dismissed this feeling, reasoning that the Ancient One had long known he wasn't the original.
"So, what should I do about this obsession, Ancient One? Can you help eliminate it?" Gul asked urgently.
"Naturally, I can. However, I do not intend to do so," the Ancient One nodded, then shook his head.
"Why not? Didn't you say my purpose in living is to save the world? If this obsession isn't removed, what if something unexpected happens? I won't be able to protect the world," Gul protested upon seeing the Ancient One's reluctance to help.
"I've said this is the obsession left by the original owner of this body. The best way to eliminate this obsession is for you to fulfill their final wish. This will naturally make the obsession disappear. Moreover, doing so will benefit you as well; your soul will fully merge with the body, becoming one. Even I won't detect any anomalies," the Ancient One explained to Gul.
"So, you mean... I have to fulfill his final wish, and then I can truly become him?" Gul understood.
"Exactly. Therefore, I believe you should now focus on fulfilling his last wish," the Ancient One nodded with a smile.
"But... what was his last wish? I have no idea. What if it's too difficult for me to accomplish?" Gul expressed his concern.
"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own. I must go now, young man. I hope you integrate into this world soon," the Ancient One said, making two circular motions in the air with his right hand. A circular portal appeared, leading to another direction. The Ancient One stepped into it and vanished.
"Wait, Ancient One! You haven't told me how to proceed," Gul called out.
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"You will know," the Ancient One's voice echoed in Gul's ears.
As the Ancient One disappeared, the space he had created also vanished. Gul and The Little Evil God found themselves back in the original space, the dim underground chamber.
"What... where is this? How did it suddenly change?" The Little Evil God observed the environmental shift, looking bewildered.
Meanwhile, Gul glanced down at the mysterious magic circle drawn with his current body's blood, unable to comprehend. "What is this? How did I end up here all of a sudden? How did The Little Evil God just appear?"
Shaking his head, Gul needed to organize his memories—well, not his own memories exactly, but those left by the original owner of this body.
These memories from the original body hadn't vanished with its death; Gul had absorbed them during his crossing. At that time, the situation was so complex that Gul hadn't paid any attention to these details.
Now that things seemed to have settled, it was time to tidy up. Similarly, Gul needed to understand what desires the owner of this body had and why they had created such an inexplicable magic circle.
Though the bloody underground chamber was far from an ideal place, Gul remained here because he didn't understand this world, nor was he clear about the condition of this body. It was better to stay put until his memories were sorted out.
After all, encountering the parents or other siblings of this body without any knowledge would be utterly awkward and disadvantageous.
Feeling a bit weak and with dirty clothes, Gul opted to sit on the ground, focusing on sorting through the memories left by this body.
Name: Gul
Age: Fourteen
Gender: Male
Identity: Middle school student
Address: Queens, New York City, USA
Family Situation: Both parents deceased, has a younger sister and a house. Um, correction—both parents deceased, leaving him alone here.
Gul hailed from a modest family in Queens; his parents were not affluent. Despite their previous modest means, they managed a life of sufficiency. Due to his frailty, Gul was often bullied during his school days.
Though not ideal, his life was not exceedingly harsh.
However, fate can be capricious, and people's fortunes can change overnight. Gul's parents met their demise in an unexpected incident—or rather, not entirely unexpected. It occurred one evening when Gul was traveling with his parents in a car passing by Stark Industries' building. Coincidentally, Iron Man and Iron Monger were engaged in a fierce battle. More astonishingly, during this battle, a vehicle was flung onto Gul's family car.
Gul was seated at the back and narrowly escaped harm. However, his parents, seated in the driver's and passenger's seats, were directly struck by the falling car.
Gul's parents perished. Gul watched helplessly as his parents were gruesomely crushed.
Already introverted and somewhat timid from frequent bullying, Gul, at fourteen years old, found the sight of his parents' death difficult to accept.
To worsen matters, although his parents were killed in this battle, he received no compensation whatsoever. Not even a penny from the insurance company was forthcoming. Furthermore, various bills had to be settled for the house where he resided, including estate taxes and other sundries. The chaotic pile left Gul with no choice but to continue living in the United States, in his current house, or else face eviction.
Before these circumstances, Gul was utterly clueless. Well, present-day Gul remains in the dark, but he likely realizes that his former self was an innocent child who was easy to bully, and thus, he became the target.
Under such pressures, Gul, in his ignorance, stumbled upon a magical array from some unknown source, planning to summon demons for revenge