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[Translator - Tangrine ]
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Chapter - 5: Closing your eyes doesn’t turn reality into a dream
Priscilla opened her eyes in the fragile body of a young girl.
The curse had succeeded.
Priscilla closed her eyes briefly to adjust to the new sensations of her body.
Creaky yet carefully prepared bedding, the bitter scent of herbs, a fragile but definite heartbeat… a sensation of rebirth that only someone newly born could truly grasp.
And beyond the darkness she saw through her closed eyes—
-"It’s a miraculous morning, Prippy."
A macho man, flaunting grotesque muscles, perched in midair.
Priscilla flinched in horror and opened her eyes again.
That disgusting hallucination had followed her beyond death itself.
"My goodness…"
Priscilla grimaced in disgust, as if she had just bitten into a cockroach.
-"What a pussy. But no problem. With this Gigachad, you too can become the Alpha."
Annoying.
The booming voice, the oddly muscle-flexing pose, even the gleaming teeth he flashed when he smiled grated on her nerves.
The fact that she could still see him even with her eyes closed and ears covered made him feel downright malicious.
"I can’t believe that hallucination was real… I hoped it would at least be a nightmare…"
-"Closing your eyes doesn’t turn reality into a dream."
Priscilla let out a long sigh, as if she had no strength left to respond.
Her head throbbed.
She had lived for centuries and thought herself well acquainted with pain, but this kind of agony was something new.
Worse still was not knowing when it would end.
-"Stop overthinking! It doesn’t matter when the pain ends. The place you have to stand up is right here, right now."
"Can you please not read my thoughts as if it’s obvious? I value my privacy."
-"You fucking idiot. You still spout that stupid crap? I told you—I’m your inner self. The infinite potential inside you."
If that were true, it was terrifying.
It meant there was a possibility she could become a muscle macho men filled with goddamn positive energy inside.
Damn it.
"I never imagined there could be something more terrifying than eternal death."
-"Your potential is more infinite than you imagine. You too can become like this Gigachad."
"What’s with the name Gigachad?"
-"It’s a name symbolizing the Alpha."
"What does that mean…? Never mind. Don’t answer that. The name isn’t important."
Priscilla had no choice but to accept it.
This terrible vision was part of her.
No matter how many times she repeated the soul transference curse, it would never disappear.
You can’t run away from yourself.
That’s what this curse is about.
-"Good job, Prippy. Now you’re starting to look a little more like a fucking lion. The first step of all change is recognizing reality like this."
She decided to ignore that damn ‘Gigachad’ for now.
Rationally, there was no benefit in getting caught up in that hallucination.
First, she checked the condition of the body she possessed.
‘This body is trash. The mana is almost nonexistent, and the stamina is pathetic. This must be a body that was practically dying. Soul transference primarily reacts to bodies that are nearly drained.’
Normally, she would have committed suicide to move on to a healthier body.
Since she had the curse, there was no need to stubbornly cling to such a weak body.
The body was nothing but clothing.
There was no reason to obsess over a dying body.
But this time was different.
‘The side effects of the curse have started to appear.’
Gigachad. Now that the side effects had begun, if she died rashly, who knew what problems might occur next?
If it were just the hallucination following her again, that would be tolerable.
But if her soul fractured further and that damn hallucination multiplied? Two, three, four times over?
The thought alone was horrifying.
Two or three muscle macho men shouting passionate nonsense in her ears.
The witch became desperate to survive for the first time.
-"That’s it! That will to live! Excellent! Don’t you feel your potential stirring inside you?"
Gigachad said this while spreading his arms in a pose that exaggerated his muscles.
His grotesquely exaggerated muscles twitched unpleasantly.
“...Don’t tell me those muscles are what you mean by my potential?”
-"Of course not! Your potential is infinite and far better than these muscles of mine."
Just as Priscilla was about to snap back, the door suddenly opened.
A middle-aged woman wearing a shabby apron entered, her face a mixture of worry and exhaustion.
"I heard voices inside… Ah, Anna?!"
She screamed and rushed over to the bedside.
She grabbed Priscilla’s hand and collapsed to the floor, like someone witnessing a miracle.
"You’ve woken up! H-heuk…"
"……."
Priscilla could easily guess the situation.
The little girl she possessed was ‘Anna’ and she was dying.
The family probably couldn’t afford proper treatment, she had only managed to survive by drinking some weak herbal broth.
Eventually, she had reached her limit.
And Priscilla’s soul had possessed that body.
Haah…she even has family? This is exhausting.
As long as there was family, the moment they discovered she had possessed this body, she would be facing a hero or an inquisitor by sundown.
Priscilla’s head throbbed. Normally, she would have just killed herself and fled to another body.
Getting caught by a hero was too risky.
But with Gigachad around, ‘death’ was no longer a viable escape route.
Why did things have to end up like this...?
Priscilla squeezed her eyes shut once more.
This time, she didn’t want to ever open them again.
If anything, living as a blind person would be better.
-"You fucking asshole, open your eyes! Your mother is worried about you. Say something to reassure her."
Even when she closed her eyes, that macho man’s bulky muscles remained vividly in her mind’s eye.
‘Why should I?’
-"Because you chose to live as this girl. You know what you have to do."
What she had to do.
When she first completed this soul transference curse, she had even fallen into such a boring roleplay sometimes.
Reluctantly and very slowly, Priscilla opened her mouth.
A small, fragile voice came out from the throat of the girl named Anna.
"…I’m sorry for worrying you, Mom. I’m okay now."
-"Good job."
Hearing her daughter’s voice comforting her, the middle-aged woman hugged Priscilla tightly and wept.
Priscilla sighed quietly inside as she was held in the woman’s arms.
‘Haah…’
She silently wished that after she woke up, this hallucination called Gigachad would disappear.
.
.
.
A few hours later, Priscilla took a bite of the herbal porridge her mother had carefully cooked.
It tasted awful.
It was clearly made only with ingredients good for the body, without any seasoning.
Priscilla grimaced, Gigachad’s loud voice whispered beside her.
-"This porridge is full of love. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to show your gratitude?"
"Thank you, Mom."
-"Speak up! What’s with that pussy voice? Louder! Pour your love and gratitude out to your mother!"
"…The porridge is really delicious!"
“Really? I used a lot of herbs, so I thought it’d taste bitter… Your appetite must not be fully back yet.”
"……."
The strange roleplay of the Great Witch Priscilla, accompanied by the hallucination called Gigachad, began.
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"She is lucky. She possessed such an ideal environment right away."
I had been prepared to just drop some bait and leave things be until a few suicide attempts cleared the way.
Fortunately, that wouldn’t be necessary.
“Isn’t it just a normal family? I don’t see what’s so ideal about it.”
“That feeling of ‘normalcy’ is exactly what matters. Since ancient times, it’s been proven that what melts the heart of a body snatcher is a simple, harmonious family like this.”
A monster stealing the body of a young girl, learning the value of love through the girl’s family, and deciding to die as the girl rather than live as a hateful monster.
It’s melodramatic, but that’s why it works.
If I were to tag it, it’d be something like [#Regret #Despair #BodySnatching].
“From now on, I’ll be adjusting things very delicately. Let’s turn this whole village—no, even the surrounding area into a stage for Priscilla.”
The stage is set.
Controlling the many variables within that stage is the player’s role.
Naturally, it’s a very complicated task.
But for me, in none other than the world of Endless—
“Failure isn’t even on the table.”
"...You've never prevented destruction before, have you?"
"You're getting a pay cut."
“What?”
Startled, Kanaria gasped sharply and began sweating profusely.
She looked exactly like a drenched mutt.
“…People learn from failure, you know! The one who fails the most is the one who succeeds the most. You’ll definitely be the one to save the world, Your Grace.”
“Kanaria, we will save the world. Right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, I’ll cancel the pay cut.”
“Phew…”
Kanaria let out a sigh of relief.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, tilted her head to wipe the sweat running from her neck to her collarbone, then loosened her clothes slightly to wipe the sweat between her breasts.
Hmm.
Somehow, I have the feeling I’ll be messing with her like this a lot from now on.
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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