I will not die a Villainess's death

"What kind of place is this? Where did I end up coming?"

Elysia looked around at the world but she was not able to make the heads or tails of it. The world was destroyed in a state beyond what Elysia had seen before. It was not only empty of any lifeform but of magic itself.

It reminded her of the dimension she had visited during the hunting festival.

But the true question remained to be unanswered - how had their vibrant world turned into such a bleak place? What happened to all the people living on this earth?

"Well, they all died as a result of the world's colliding. Our fate was just not strong enough to survive against a world that had a stronger fate. Don't you think that this is cruel?"

Elysia did think that it was rather cruel to be faced with such a thing. Why did this have to happen to this world and for what reason…

She quickly turned around as soon as Elysia realized that someone had addressed her. This was an impossible occurrence, and she could not believe her ears.

"Why do you look so surprised? You are the one who decided to tap into my dream. To think that your power had gotten strong enough to connect to me even after you are no longer inside the sacred waters."

Grey eyes and grey hair struck out against the redness of the atmosphere. Elysia started to see a familiar face walking up to her from behind.

It had been the man whom she had met before her labor pain had started. And she was well aware that it was not a coincidence such a thing had happened.

"Why are you walking back from me? Do I scare you that much, Elysia Dirac? Or is it your unconscious mind asking you to avoid me because it knows how much trouble you have caused me?"

Elysia was not sure why she was backing away from that man either. There was just something inside her that was asking her to maintain her distance.

This man was dangerous but not in a way mortals were to each other. The terror Elysia felt was seeping right into her bones.

"What are you? Are you even human?"

Elysia asked that question, only to see the man grin and crack out into a peal of light laughter. His eyes shined with amusement as he watched Elysia's uncomfortable expression.

In a burst of wind, the man was no longer standing in front of Elysia but he was behind her. Her hand in Elysia's hair caused goosebumps on Elysia's arms.

"Am I human? Well, what do you think?"

"I don't think you are human. You feel closer to nature but my senses also reject you."

The man laughed as he looked Elysia up and down. His gaze made Elysia feel like she was naked in front of him.

"You have got sharp senses at least. Well then, you are right about everything. In essence, I am the consciousness of this world which had gained self-awareness."

Elysia's body froze at those words. She had not even considered that as a possibility but it made sense all of a sudden.

The reason she was feeling so unsettled and wanted to break away was that she unconsciously recognized this man as the reason for all her hardships. He was the reason she was not liked by anyone.

"Hey, don't glare at me like that. I did not choose you to play out your fate in this world. You should be thankful to me for the protection I am providing you. Here, I even helped you out by saving your brother's soul."

The grey-haired man held a small sphere up in front of Elysia. It had a familiar essence to her brother's which made Elysia certain that he was not lying to her.

This man had the potential to save her brother but she could not see the catch. What did this man want from her?

"Name your price. I am sure that you are not showing this all to me to be generous to me. What do you want from me?"

Elysia needed to know what this man wanted. This might be the only way to save her brother in the end. It seemed like the reason her brother had not died yet was that his soul was being held together by this entity in front of her.

But it also meant that she had to be cautious about how she approached this situation this man was someone dangerous to her and her existence.

"Don't look so scared of me because I am not going to harm you. I am here to help you out. All you need to do is to agree to my terms and your brother's safety is guaranteed."

The man was good. Elysia hated to admit it but he knew what to say to get Elysia to agree to his terms.

Worst of all, he held her brother's soul hostage which made Elysia unable to go against his wishes. She had to do what he asked for and she did not have a choice in this matter.

"What do you want from me? What do you want me to do?"

Elysia looked the man straight in the eyes. She could recognize the lust this man carried for her cooperation. It was entirely possible that this man only held an interest in her because of what she could do for him.

And she was going to abuse that interest for as long as she could.

"Aren't you a smart one? I am sure you can see what the world can become if we allow it to go down the path it is currently following. So we need to change things and close the door that could open."

"And what does that mean?"

"That means - we need a strong enough force to serve external connections to the other energies in the universe and the only one who can do this currently is you mainly because you harbor energy from outside this realm and fulfill the conditions needed. So, what do you say?"

Elysia had a stare-off with the man in front of him. It seemed as if none of the two were willing to back off now that things had come this far.

"Does this mean my brother fulfills these conditions as well? What about my son? Would you go after him if I disagree with you?"

The man in front of Elysia laughed at her words. He seemed to be finding her questions and concerns hilarious. It was tough for Elysia to control her temper like this.

His voice gave Elysia goosebumps and she wanted to take as many steps back from him as possible. But it was now clear to her that her precious people were not safe as long as this man remained in existence.

And she could also not kill him off because of obvious reasons.

"Hmmm, you bring up some interesting questions. Should I try it out to see if I can use others-"

"No don't. Leave them alone and just chose me as the sacrifice. I was ready to die since the start so I have nothing to lose."

Elysia interrupted the man before he could bring up anything else. She did not want to be the reason someone else had to suffer.

Especially when it was someone close to her. Elysia could never agree to such scummy conditions. And it seemed like the grey-haired man knew it as well.

"Fine. I can see that you are getting agitated now so I will let you go back home. If you make up your mind then you know where to find me."

Those empty grey eyes stared right into Elysia's soul as the man got ready to leave. He met Elysia's eyes for one last time and she could not help the shiver that went down her spine at his look.

"Do not keep me waiting for long, Elysia Dirac. You will not like the consequences of doing that to me. And I hope you keep our encounter a secret from everyone else as well. You will not like the consequences of others knowing about this."

This was an obvious threat if Elysia had ever heard one. She was not surprised to hear it from this man's mouth.

After all, he looked just like a person who was used to controlling everything. His desire for control was so strong that Elysia could feel herself being choked by it.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of airing my dirty laundry out to the world. Our encounter and our conversation, would all be kept a secret. As long as you hold up your side of our deal, I have no problem with the arrangement we have agreed upon."

Elysia was well aware of how powerless she currently was but it would not stop her from protecting everyone precious to her.

She knew what she had to do, even if no one else agreed with her decision.