Exchange

"Are you really unwilling to make any deal with me?" asked the soul of Skull No. 1.

"I don't want to."

"And you're unwilling to swear an oath to hand over the skull to me?"

"I don't want to."

"Then," said the soul of Skull No. 1, "In that case, I will exchange my soul for yours."

It proactively stated what it was going to do, instead of doing it silently.

But Hope knew that the "exchange" actually began when she said her second unwillingness.

"I really wouldn't want to do this if I weren't forced to," the voice said.

A very subtle feeling arose in Hope, like pain— Hope could no longer feel her own body, so this pain was in her soul.

But this pain was not unfamiliar to Hope; he was certain he had experienced it not long ago...

He remembered; it was when he killed the Great Night Hawk.

But the pain was less intense now than it had been then, so Hope quickly regained her composure after her Oldest One shock.

Perhaps because "exchange" only affects the soul, it is different from "Uncertainty" which cannot be activated normally due to the stagnation of time in the external world.

Within the "Communication" magic, "Exchange" can also be performed normally.

Hope wasn't alarmed, because he realized... something interesting was happening.

But he decided not to show it yet.

"I don't quite understand," Hope said.

"I've lost count of how many times I've been amazed by you," the voice said. "Unlike before, when the soul was ripped from its original body, there was real pain that couldn't be avoided, but you instantly suppressed it."

"After regaining my composure, I wasn't panicked. The first thing I did was ask questions. Honestly, I admire your thirst for knowledge. If I were still alive, I would definitely take you on as an apprentice. It's just a pity about the current situation."

You can ask me anything, and I'll answer.

"Enough with the nonsense. What are you hesitating about?" Hope asked. "You could have done it from the beginning, why wait until now?"

"The soul is like water," the soul of Skull No. 1 replied. "You can certainly pour the water out and change the container, but every time you do so, some water is always lost. My soul is already broken enough."

A broken soul, yet possessing three magical powers...?

"Second," Hope continued, "Why didn't any Night Hawk come to eat you?"

"Your the Cult doesn't tell you anything? Then who taught you to use the temporary soul container? The soul is safe inside the soul container."

"But you'll get weaker and weaker?"

"Yes, perhaps there was originally a chance to escape from the Night Hawk's jaws, but staying in the container for too long forced it to drift away, leaving it defenseless against the Night Hawk."

"Third. How did you manage to remain inside a skull for so long?"

It was as if he were dead.

"I don't know," the voice said. "I don't know that; I've lost that part of my memory."

The two remained silent for a few seconds.

"You may continue to ask questions," said the spirit of Skull No. 1.

"No, I don't think I need to ask any more questions."

"The exchange isn't finished yet, we still have time..."

The soul inside the Skull No. 1 paused for a moment, then its voice suddenly became agitated:

"Damn, it's been too long."

"The exchange is complete," Hope said.

He watched as the number after "Wilbur" in the Memorandum changed to zero.

"I thought about it and then changed my mind," Hope said.

"I'm willing to make a trade with you, in exchange for your 'trade' magic. But I won't promise you any vows until your soul is stable."

"What did you do?" the soul of Skull No. 1 asked.

"By the God of Toads!" The soul of Skull No. 1 cried out in terror.

"How did you do that? How is that even possible? You're using my 'exchange'! It's not equivalent! I didn't get anything!"

"Now, it's my 'exchange'," Hope said. "Everything is done."

He watched with satisfaction as the word "exchange" appeared in his Memorandum.

When the soul of Skull No. 1 initiates the "Exchange," Hope discovers that she is not powerless against it.

On the contrary, he gained partial control over the "exchange".

As the two souls spend more and more time in contact, "Source-ification" is quietly eroding the soul of Skull No. 1.

During her conversation with it, Hope quietly changed the target of the "exchange" from two souls to the "exchange" itself.

As for what is used to exchange for...

Hope initially hoped it would be "The Curse of Darkness," since it also had "1" written after it, suggesting it should have a rank of value.

But he soon realized that this was not feasible, since it was a curse that had been placed upon him, and although it appeared in the Memorandum, it could not strictly be considered something that belonged to Hope himself.

Just as Hope was about to piece together a rank from her four attributes, she discovered that Wilbur's kill count could actually be used...

"You're leaving Elizabeth's body," Hope said. "Is that right?"

He's not the one who needs to be worried right now.

"Didn't expect that, did you?" Hope continued, not minding making the other person even more flustered. "I'm protected by the God. The god I believe in is stronger than yours. After all these years, your so- God of Toads might not even care about you anymore."

But after their initial shock, the other person fell silent again.

After a long time, so long that Hope wanted to forcibly end the conversation, the soul of the Skull No. 1 finally spoke again:

"The Great Old Ones live on forever."

The Great Old Ones... was he implying that the God he worshipped would not abandon him...?

Are those God the Great Old Ones?

"I don't know your name yet," it said.

"Love," Hope said.

"I was wrong," said the soul of Skull No. 1. "I always thought you were a follower of some God. Now it seems you don't believe in any god at all. Yet even so, the gods favor you."

I don't believe in God...

Hope had no idea what she had said wrong.

Isn't he a cult member?

This question only appeared in Hope's mind for a moment before Hope dismissed it.

"I lost," said the spirit of Skull No. 1. "But this isn't your victory, because you yourself don't know how you won."

Is there any difference?

"The difference lies in whether you win as a human being or as a puppet of a God."

Aren't you a cult member...? That's not quite right of you.

It continued, "To worship a God for power does not mean abandoning one's human identity. Next..."

The magic of "Communication" gradually dissipated, Hope heard the sound of chanting spells.

The soul of the Skull No. 1 uttered its last words during the "Communication":

"Rationally speaking, taking revenge on you wouldn't benefit me. But I've said it many times: I've lost too much and been dormant for too long; I don't have much rationality left."