I Am Not the God of Drama

Chapter 1377: Guilt

Guilt

"How pathetic... Yang Xiao."

The black-robed Chen Ling gently lifted his finger, and the Bone-Stripping Knife automatically cut through the restraining belts and ropes binding Yang Xiao. He narrowed his eyes slightly, the crescent-like scarlet glow exceptionally distinct in the darkness.

Soaked to the bone, Yang Xiao stood up. Looking at the unfamiliar yet faintly familiar black-robed figure, he asked in confusion,

"Director Chen... how did you become like this?"

"What? Is there something wrong with this?" The black-robed Chen Ling chuckled. "It's just a face. I am who I am. Why should I cater to your human concepts of beauty and ugliness? I actually think this is great. This way, every time I kill someone, the expression of terror on their faces will be even more intense... Hahahaha!"

Yang Xiao furrowed his brows slightly. He could clearly sense that the Chen Ling before him was different from before...

'Just what exactly happened to him?'

As the black-robed Chen Ling laughed, a look of struggle suddenly surfaced on his face. He pressed a hand against his forehead, and his entire body suddenly began to stagger.

He breathed heavily, his voice slightly hoarse,

"Give me a moment..."

The black-robed Chen Ling turned around, walked out of the cabin, and closed the door behind him.

Yang Xiao stared blankly at this scene, his face full of bewilderment... About ten seconds later, the cabin door was pushed open once more. Chen Ling, draped in a great crimson theatrical robe, walked in from outside. The former brutality and sharpness had vanished, replaced by a somewhat haggard expression.

Yang Xiao was stunned for a moment. "Director Chen, did you go out just to change clothes?"

Chen Ling: "..."

In Yang Xiao's eyes, he had merely changed into a theatrical robe. But for Chen Ling, he had just barely managed to suppress his Second Personality... Although he had also utilized the Second Personality in the Ghost Mockery Abyss before, the duration had been very short. This time, he realized that the longer the Second Personality took control, the harder it became to force it back down.

During the process, he even had multiple fleeting thoughts of 'why not just stay like this' or 'having this personality as the main one wouldn't be bad either.' After all, the thrill of absolutely crushing his enemies with overwhelming power, coupled with the unbridled, arrogant, and vengeful nature, felt incredibly exhilarating. That sensation of disregarding all consequences and reigning supreme was something anyone would find intoxicating after experiencing it.

If Chen Ling's main personality hadn't experienced so much and didn't possess such formidable willpower, he likely wouldn't have been able to suppress the Second Personality at all...

However, this also served as a stark reminder to Chen Ling: he must never maintain the Second Personality for too long in the future, lest he completely lose himself.

"... Something like that," Chen Ling could only reply.

"But you seem different from just now."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah... Although you just changed clothes, you feel more approachable now." Yang Xiao hesitated for a moment. "Just now... how should I put it... you were rather terrifying."

"Never mind me, how are you holding up?"

Hearing Chen Ling's question, Yang Xiao opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

The agony resurfaced on his face, and his bloodshot eyes brimmed with remorse and self-blame,

"It's all my fault... I killed them..."

"I thought I could be like I was in Wushan, changing the trajectory of the nuclear bomb and saving everyone..."

"Before that happened, I even confidently told them not to run around and to stay close to me... that I had a way to save them."

"I even imitated Lu Xun, floating up from the ground. I called myself the Lord of the Aurora... They truly believed me. They desperately rushed to my side, even lifting their children up to me..."

"But... but this time I was too exhausted. It plummeted straight down toward us. I used all my strength, but I couldn't push it entirely out of the way..."

"It detonated. Everyone vanished in an instant... Except for me..."

"I don't know how I survived. When I regained my senses, I heard countless voices screaming in my mind. I couldn't make out what they were saying; I just felt like my head was splitting apart..."

"And then, my consciousness drifted between clarity and chaos. I thought I heard them whispering in my ears, and somehow, I picked a direction and suddenly started flying... When I woke up, I was here."

Yang Xiao clenched his fists tighter and tighter, clutching his head in self-reproach as tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

"It's all my fault... It's all my fault!! They trusted me so much, yet I... I thought I could become the next Lu Xun, but the result..."

"I'm just a piece of trash, a useless piece of trash who can't do anything right!!"

Yang Xiao's voice trembled. He roared continuously, as if he had completely broken down. Ever since Chen Ling had met him, this was the first time he had seen him in such a state.

"Of course it's not your fault," Chen Ling stated without hesitation. "The nuclear bomb's impact zone was right there. Without you, they still wouldn't have survived... You already did everything in your power to save them. Their deaths have nothing to do with you."

Yang Xiao's chest continued to heave violently. His nature was simply too kind and introverted. To him, failing to do something he believed he could, and failing to fulfill a promise he made to others, was an agonizingly painful experience. He was the kind of child who, if he made plans to watch a movie with friends but got rushed to the hospital with a high fever, would secretly wipe away tears of guilt in his hospital bed because he broke his promise.

Not to mention, the burden he now carried was the weight of over a million lives.

Chen Ling watched him silently, his mind recalling the dream Yang Xiao had just experienced... and those charred hands reaching out from behind him.

"Yang Xiao, let me see your soul," Chen Ling suddenly requested.

"... What?"

"I mean your aurora."

Yang Xiao looked hesitantly at his hands, seemingly uncertain...

Before being struck by the nuclear bomb, he could only release a tiny wisp of aurora, an incredibly minuscule amount. Yet he vaguely remembered seeing a magnificent, sprawling aurora during that blur of semi-consciousness after the blast.

Deep down, he seemed to have already guessed something, but he didn't dare verify his hypothesis... He feared he wouldn't be able to accept the truth.

"Come on," Chen Ling said, looking directly into his eyes. "You have to face them eventually, don't you?"

Hearing these words, a flash of determination crossed Yang Xiao's eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

Following that, magnificent and resplendent streams of aurora, almost condensing into tangible forms, radiated outward with him at the center, illuminating the entire cabin!

"This is..." Sensing everything around him, a look of sheer shock appeared on Yang Xiao's face. "My soul... how did it become so strong??"

"It's simple." Witnessing this scene, Chen Ling's theory was confirmed.

"Because they didn't completely die. Their soul magnetic fields were captured by your ability and became a part of your soul... In other words, they have already merged into one with you."