Demon Hunter and His Cabin

"I know," Roger took a deep breath.

"There are some tombstones haphazardly placed in the cemetery, but they all bear one name."

"It is Nassero's name!"

Ophelia revealed the secret.

"He killed himself..."

"No, it should be me, I killed him."

Seemingly lost in memory, Ophelia regained consciousness after a moment.

"Where was I? Oh, yes, the ritual, the one Nassero asked me to prepare for him."

"I think you should feel it," she looked at Roger, "that kind of irreplaceable loneliness, like an unfillable hole in your soul, eternally unfillable."

"So I hoped he would stay, because it was truly too lonely with just me left."

"We prepared for a very long time, then started the ritual, everything went smoothly, and after the ceremony, Nassero never mentioned returning."

"We even lived peacefully for a while. Honestly, that was one of the few happy times."

"You could see he was relaxed, as if he had truly forgotten everything from the past, while I became the tormented one. So I suggested to him to hold the same ritual for me."

"But at that moment, an accident happened."

"We were attacked, by the retaliation of the entire plane's rules. You've heard the name—"

"World Serpent."

"Our power had exceeded the limits of what this plane could bear, and the battle erupted."

"Our strength was greater, coordinated together, we finally killed the World Serpent, but this creature was not formed through normal growth. It was the embodiment of the plane's rules, even if we kill it, it would reappear shortly."

"But it's not an unsolvable issue, as long as you search everywhere and destroy it before it truly coagulates, a battle can be avoided."

"But unfortunately..." Ophelia sighed softly.

"Nassero took advantage of my heavy injuries and, with a sneak attack, stole all my power, then completely killed me!"

"What?" Roger felt puzzled.

"But why... why would he do that?"

Ophelia looked sorrowful, "Nassero told me before he acted that it was his mission. He had to kill me because only then could he go home!"

"Home... how ridiculous, it was that ritual, Nassero knew that he couldn't make choices at that moment."

"He knew what he should do but couldn't rid himself of inner emotions."

"Since that's the case, then make a choice again."

"He erased all attachments in this world, bringing himself to a state closer to when he first arrived on this plane."

"Back then, his heart was full of desire to plunder, always wanting to return to his original homeland. This made things much simpler, eliminating obstacles, even devouring my power."

"For him, it was all easy because there was nothing in this world worth his nostalgia."

"He was very cruel; to achieve the original goal, he castrated his soul, and not just once."

"Every now and then, he would undergo reincarnation, because only then could he resist the erosion of time over the long years, always maintaining his high spirits."

"Once the initial choice is made, the rest follows naturally."

Roger recalled the tombstones he saw in the cemetery, it seemed that the so-called ritual was not without its cost.

The pain experienced by the Lord of the Mist is imaginable.

"He could actually leave immediately, without needing to attack you."

Roger asked.

"Haha, that's the most ironic part, Nassero made a choice, but at that time his will wasn't very firm, naturally, there were oversights."

"And his biggest mistake was, after erasing everything, he couldn't find the way home... how ridiculous, a guy who repeatedly harmed his own soul to maintain his original intention, yet finally couldn't remember how to go home."

"He could only wander, contemplating endlessly, but it was all meaningless, even though the door was right in front of him, all he saw was a wall."

Roger felt a chill.

He could understand the choice the Lord of the Mist made, knowing he should stay here because that was the best choice to escape that broken world.

But the emotions in his heart prevented him from making the choice, involving gains and losses, but more so the nostalgia for this plane.

But if everything else is erased, what's left is that cold-hearted plunderer.

He made great sacrifices, ensuring he could always maintain an unwavering will.

But sadly, the once-clear path is now shrouded in Mist.

This should also be one of the reasons he later tapped into Shadow Power and now controls the Mist.

He plans to explore every corner of the Plane and then find the way home.

"How did you survive?"

With the odds against her and in a severely wounded state, Ophelia couldn't possibly escape.

"To be precise, the real Ophelia is already dead. What you see now is merely an odd combination of her memories and the body of the World Serpent."

"Nassero wanted answers from me, but I ultimately refused him. After he killed me completely, the disintegration rules of the World Serpent simulated my memories, granting me new life."

"Since then, I am no longer Ophelia but the Primordial Dragon here, the Guardian of the entire Plane!"

"My existence serves a single purpose: to guard this Plane, preventing it from repeating the cataclysmic fate of our past."

"So..." she spread her hands.

"You should understand my stance now, don't you?"

"For the cherished comrades and lovers, our goals are exactly the same."

"I see." Roger nodded.

"Therefore, we must kill him."

But he quickly frowned, "If he's already undergone Soulification and only Soul Power can harm and kill him, then we..."

"Are you much weaker in Soul Power compared to him?" Roger suddenly asked.

"That question..."

Ophelia was silent for a moment and then said, "I have no soul."

"What?!" Roger looked utterly shocked.

"Every creature has a soul, from a mighty dragon to a tiny ant, or even something smaller... That's the rule; what you're saying can't possibly happen."

"That's what you believe to be the rule." Ophelia sighed.

"After I revived, we once had a war. The final result, you probably already know."

"Mutual destruction."

"By then, I knew if I wanted to kill Nassero, I had to make a choice to make my power purer and more extreme."

"So I took a completely opposite path from him."

"Then painstakingly erased my traces and planned everything for a long time. I knew as long as his body and soul retained even a sliver of connection, my plan would definitely succeed."

"Destroying his body would also kill his soul."

"But it's fate's cruel joke; he thought of the same method as me, but we took different roads."

"Although the soul and body can influence each other, transformation of different power rules can occur, but at our level, without absolute purity, it's impossible to kill each other."

"Does he know?" Roger asked.

"It's only a matter of time." Ophelia sighed.

"I can't kill him, nor can he do anything to me, but he's the Destroyer. Without my restraint, the Mist will certainly devour the entire Plane!"

"That would be the true disaster."

"Is there any other way? He can influence the shrouded world through the Mist, so can't you also use the power of the bloodline..."

"Those are meaningless little tricks; they can only delay time a bit but can't determine the final outcome."

"In the end, either I choose to submit and tell him the way home, or he'll drag the entire Plane and all the life here to be buried alongside him!"

"So we just wait for death, or play cards?" Roger pinched the Gwent Card on the table corner.

"No." A gleam of light exploded in Ophelia's eyes.

"We still have you."

"The only hope."