Negotiating with Pride

The deafening roar, like a muffled thunder, made Sean's ears ring. He looked down at the Giant Sean in surprise, not expecting the other to speak so readily.

The enormous sound carried an ancient aura and the imposing presence of a superior, yet Sean could also sense a hint of familiarity.

"You can actually talk?" Sean curiously poked his head out even further.

"The lowly will only use the most base mentality to speculate about my strength." There was no anger or contempt in the voice of [Pride], as if he was just stating a common sense that everyone knows.

Sean chuckled, "I don't mind being called a lowly one, but you're living inside the body of a lowly one, so you don't seem to be much more sophisticated yourself, big guy."

Pride slowly raised its head slightly, its Sean's entire body, seemed to engulf Sean.

"You lowly one, how laughable are your thoughts, parasite—ha ha."

The Pride laughter shook the magma, yet there was no mockery in it, just as the other party had always appeared calm and detached from worldly affairs.

Or perhaps, this is the most Pride attitude imaginable, so Pride that it doesn't stir any emotion in the face of Sean.

Sean pursed his lips. This guy's stubbornness was a bit unexpected. After all, although [Pride] existed within him, Sean had very few direct interactions with him.

In Sean's memory, the other party was constantly devising various ways to take over his body and Banishing Charm his soul, all for His complete awakening.

Now, when facing Sean, he showed absolutely no reaction.

Sean thought for a moment and then tried asking, "Since you're not interested in me, why don't you just leave? How can someone as lowly as me tolerate someone as noble as you?"

The Pride voice boomed. "You should feel honored to be my bridge."

Sean: "... You're pretty shameless."

The Pride voice finally carried some emotion, but it was doubt.

"Isn't this the most glorious place for a wizard? Your bloodline can even withstand my existence, and in the future, you can become my body."

Sean's eye twitched twice; he knew the conversation was going nowhere.

The other party treated him entirely from the perspective of a superior being, even though he was its host. To [Pride], Sean was like an ant in the eyes of Giant.

Would you be proud, angry, or equal with an ant?

Thinking of this, Sean said irritably, "I have no interest in experiencing such glory. Just consider me a disgrace to the wizarding world, okay?"

[Pride] said, "In that case—I don't need to consider your feelings anymore. I originally planned to leave you a name as a memento after I awoke."

"Should I thank you?"

"I do not need the gratitude of the humble, but you can maintain this attitude."

This Pride is shameless to an extreme...

Sean completely abandoned the idea of discussing parasitism with the other party and went straight to the point. "Is this power I obtained derived from your Sin?"

The Pride voice carried a hint of confusion. "Indeed, but how did you lowly beings manage to steal it?"

He was not angry, but rather puzzled, and also curious.

Various thoughts raced through Sean's mind.

[Pride] was not as he had imagined. He had originally thought that the other party might feel angry or something like a god in a fantasy novel whose power has been stolen.

Judging from the other party's attitude, He seemed not to care about such things at all, and was simply curious.

Does that mean that the power of Sloth in Thomas doesn't seem to have reached the true level of Sin?

Thinking of this, Sean asked again, "This is [Sloth], right?"

[Pride] nodded, and large clumps of lava rolled down from his hair.

"It originated from that traitor, but it's so weak that only a trace of its original flavor remains."

Traitor?!

Sean's pupils suddenly shrank to a single point. Pride called Sloth a traitor?!

However, in the Prophecy, Pride is clearly the first of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the other Sin are ranked first, just like Lust in Stephanie's case.

It's worth noting that if Sean had wanted to, he could have directly absorbed Stephanie's [Lust] power.

But now, Pride has actually called Sloth a traitor!

"Why is He a traitor?"

[Pride] gave a cold snort, as if only such Sin of the same level could arouse His emotional fluctuations.

"A traitor is a traitor."

Sean suddenly thought of "The Poet and the Greedy Wisdom Snake".

In the story, the poet passes seven trials. The first six are all tests symbolizing some kind of Sin. The last test should logically be conducted by Pride, but the Wisdom Snake takes the place of Pride.

Could it be because of this?

"Big guy, you guys must have all lived in the Realm of Illusion back then, right? Did something big happen in the Realm of Illusion?" Sean tentatively asked.

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, the lava lake below the Sky Island began to fluctuate violently, and a lava column tens of meters high erupted out, even obscuring [Pride] with lava.

Sean was startled. Could it be that his, Stephanie's, Hermione's, and Daisy's speculation was true?

Did a god-slaying incident really happen in that Realm of Illusion?

The lava was still churning, and [Pride]'s eyes grew increasingly bloodshot.

"Big guy, is it because of your god...?"

Before Sean could finish speaking, the entire Soul World trembled.

Not only the lava lake, but even the Sky Island and the villas in the heart of the islands were shaking, as if the entire sky was about to collapse.

Is this caused by Pride, or by my own words...?

Sean stared in shock at the scene, gripping the railing tightly and looking at Pride in fear.

Lava splashed everywhere, and a terrifying, enormous figure was slowly revealing its complete form.

[Pride] stood up.

He has the exact same appearance as Sean, but he, who used to only show his head in the lava lake, now stands up completely.

A huge head, level with Sean's eye level.

"Is it really that big of a commotion..." Sean murmured.

This time, he didn't need to look down to see "Pride".

[Pride] seemed to want to get closer, but there seemed to be a transparent barrier between Him and Sean, which even such a terrifying Giant could not get any closer.

The coin toss was pretty reliable... Sean breathed a sigh of relief.

As he had imagined, as long as [Pride] wasn't fully awakened, or his consciousness wasn't completely controlled by negative emotions, the other party couldn't do anything to Sean.

[Pride] clearly knew this too, and after a useless and angry gesture, He stared straight at Sean.

"You lowly one—this is not something you can discuss."

"These eyelashes are thicker than me," Sean thought to himself, then looked at the other person.

"Your reaction confirms my suspicions, is God...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the whole world began to shake even more violently, and a crack even appeared in the sky.

Sean immediately stopped asking his question. He was now certain that the tremor he had just experienced was not caused by Pride, but by the words he was about to say!

The world is reacting!

Sean's mind raced—the theory of god-killing had been largely confirmed. Even if god-killing wasn't necessarily correct, the whole affair did involve the existence of gods.

However, when he and the three girls reached this conclusion, the world did not undergo any changes.

Sean looked up at the crack in the sky, and an idea popped into his head.

Is it because of the special nature of this world?

His Soul Floating Island and the world where [Pride] resides are actually part of the Realm of Illusion, but due to unknown peculiarities, his world and the main body of the Realm of Illusion do not seem to be connected. Instead, they are separated from the Realm of Illusion and belong exclusively to Sean Wallerup.

Just like in the original story, Harry entered the Realm of Illusion, where he saw King's Cross Station and Dumbledore —it was Harry's own world.

This may be a characteristic of the Realm of Illusion. Real wizards cannot directly enter the world, but instead enter a more special world. However, this special little world is still essentially part of the Realm of Illusion.

He mentioned the gods in the Realm of Illusion, which triggered a change in the world, possibly similar to Grindelwald's awakening of the World Will after traveling a hundred years.

Of course, this may also be related to the fact that I mentioned these things in front of [Pride].

[Pride] is most likely a firsthand witness to this major event, and it's even possible that [Pride] residing within Sean's body is related to this event!

Having figured all this out, Sean looked at Pride again. The other was completely enveloped in negative emotions, but there was no longer any anger in his eyes. He was just looking at Sean calmly.

"You lowly one, this is not a level you can reach, nor is it something you are qualified to think about."

The Pride voice sounded like both a warning and a reminder.

I am not yet qualified to discuss matters of the gods...

Sean thought for a moment and asked, "You turned Sloth into a traitor because of this, right?"

The world shuddered again, but no further cracks appeared.

[Pride] did not answer, but instead gave Sean a deep look before sinking back into the lava.

"Hey, don't run away—I'm still your host, there are some things I can't say directly, at least give me some hints."

[Pride] With his back to Sean, his voice made Sean's head spin.

"Sometimes, even spying can turn an extremely weak being like you into thick water and make you cease to exist."

Sean's temper flared up. "Don't play these games with me. You want to replace my existence, and destroy this world after you awaken—and you expect me to obediently endure all of this, treating it as some kind of bullshit glory?"

[Pride] Slowed down his descent into the lava lake, and his voice even carried a hint of anger.

"This is what you deserve! This is the price you have to pay, this is your retribution!"

Unfazed by the angry Pride, Sean cursed, "What the hell are you talking about? I'm living a perfectly good life. I've been helping old ladies cross the street since I was five. If you want revenge, go get revenge on the people who deserve it. Don't come looking for me, you dog!"

[Pride] He was unperturbed by Sean's insults; His voice carried severity and authority.

"I may not care about your insults, but you will eventually understand that this is what you, and your world, are meant to endure!"

"Then nobody else can play anymore, I'm going to destroy this Realm of Illusion today!" Sean's face was full of resentment and madness, as if he had completely lost his mind.

"It's about killing gods, right?! I not only know that, I know even more!"

The moment Sean uttered those words, the entire world seemed to shake!

The crack in the sky expanded from a tiny slit into a massive rift in an instant, and the whole world rumbled as if it were about to collapse.

[Pride] finally turned around, raised his hand, and grasped the void. The crack in the distant sky seemed to be held in place by an invisible hand, and the crack stopped breaking and spreading.

"You—" [Pride]'s voice was filled with anger.

Sean grinned fearlessly, the upward curve of his mouth wild and unrestrained.

"Don't try that with me. We're all in this together."

[Pride] stopped speaking and just stared intently at Sean.

Finally, He spoke, saying, "I understand, but I must remind you that this matter must never be mentioned again in this world, and I cannot give you any more information."

Sean gave a maniacal laugh, "What do I care? I'm about to die, and you're still bringing this up with me?"

[Pride] paused for a moment. "A bridge is just a bridge, but I can make you a promise: when I fully awaken and return to this world, I will not absorb your soul."

Sean scoffed dismissively. "Anyone can't just talk the talk."

The Pride voice was serious. "My promise will never change, and I have no need for your trust!"

Sean's face remained crazed, but his mind was perfectly calm.

Upon discovering the unusual reactions that his mention of god-slaying would trigger, he immediately realized one thing—this was a bargaining chip he could use to cooperate with Pride.

Sean certainly had no interest in perishing with the world, but he had to gamble, betting that the other side wouldn't dare.

[Pride] has always maintained a superior attitude. From the other party's perspective, it would be more disadvantageous for Him to perish together with Him, who is "humble".

In hindsight, Sean was right.

He chuckled inwardly, finally receiving a promise. Although he wanted more, even a way to control Pride, it wasn't the time yet.

Now, if I continue down this path of madness, my Pride might actually become "proud."

Pretending to be reluctant but helpless, Sean's panting chest gradually calmed down.

"Hmph, you better not lie to me," Sean said angrily.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! The moon is fullest on the 16th, after midnight.