WHAT! I Have To Kill Heaven's Son To Live!

Reon and Nira had finally calmed down, their emotions settled like dust after a storm.

They had made it a priority to leave the area quickly—after all, the explosion earlier would surely have drawn the attention of the sect's Elders.

An hour and a half later...

Now, far from where the battle had taken place, they sat beneath the shade of a massive tree in a quiet clearing.

Cloudia lay beside them, still unconscious in her human form.

Reon had carried her with him and fed her a Low-Tier Grade-3 Healing Pill, though it paled in comparison to the passive regenerative power granted by her Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline.

She just needed time.

Floating silently beside them, the Celestial Elemental Heart hovered in the air, pulsating with an ethereal glow.

Nira sat comfortably on Reon's lap, her arms lazily looped around his as the two spoke softly—like siblings reunited after lifetimes apart.

"…So, you were reincarnated into this world as the youngest daughter of the Thunderous White Tiger Emperor?" Reon asked, blinking in surprise after listening for a while.

Nira nodded with a small smile.

"Mm. I had no memories of my past life back then. I was just… living a peaceful, luxurious life, pampered by everyone in the clan."

She gave a small shrug.

"Compared to my older brothers, my talents were nothing special—I was considered completely mediocre. But as the only younger sister among eight brothers, they all doted on me endlessly."

Reon chuckled softly, his expression relaxed.

"That's… honestly really nice to hear. You had a good family in your second life."

Nira pouted slightly, her nose crinkling with playful protest.

"They might be my family… but Brother Reon is my most important and real family."

Reon's heart warmed, a gentle smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah… Of course. It's the same for me."

After a moment of comfortable silence, he tilted his head in curiosity.

"Then… how did you find out about me? I mean—when did you start remembering?"

Nira looked up at the sky thoughtfully.

"That happened about five months ago. I suddenly felt a soul appear in the world—so familiar, so precious to me."

Reon's eyes narrowed slightly.

'Five months ago… that's when I first possessed Xue Taiyang's body.'

Nira continued, her voice soft.

"At first, I didn't know who it was. I just knew it was someone incredibly important to me… and I had to find them."

"So I secretly followed the trace of that soul. I snuck out of the clan without anyone noticing."

"I used a high-tier Teleportation Talisman to cross over to this continent… to the Sleeping Dragon Continent. But when I arrived, I was captured by some bad people and… caged."

Her voice grew quieter at the memory.

"But I managed to escape eventually. And not long after… I met Brother Reon in the Mystic Evergreen Forest."

"Even though I didn't remember everything at the time, something in my heart just knew. You were someone precious I couldn't lose."

Reon nodded slowly.

"I see… So that's why you made a contract with me?"

Nira smiled.

"Yes. I didn't know the reason then… only that my soul chose you. And now I understand why."

'As I thought…' Reon mused inwardly.

'A Legendary-Lineage beast wouldn't form a contract just because someone saved them once… It was her soul that recognized me—even before her memories did.'

"Then, when exactly did your memories return?" he asked.

Nira looked up, brushing her hair aside.

"That happened when I was unconscious for days after fighting Miu Jiang in the Evergreen Forest."

"Out of nowhere… memories came flooding back—our past life, your kindness, our promise… and how I died."

Reon looked at her silently for a while, then gave a faint, understanding nod.

"…So that's how it all came to be. Anyway, I'm truly happy to have reunited with you in my second life."

"Mm-hmm. Me too."

Then, Nira turned her head and looked at Reon, her expression curious yet gentle.

"Brother Reon… now tell me—how did you come to possess this body?"

Reon gave a half-shrug and sighed.

"I don't know. One day, I simply woke up in this body. From that moment on, my identity became Xue Taiyang."

"Hmm…"

Nira studied him silently for a few moments, her silver eyes glowing slightly.

"But how is that possible, Brother Reon? Your soul… it feels like it belongs to this body."

Those words made Reon freeze.

He stammered, his voice barely stable.

"W-What are you saying, Nira? I-I'm clearly not Xue Taiyang—you know that, right? I looked completely different in my past life."

But Nira slowly shook her head.

"I know, Brother Reon. I remember your face. But I'm not mistaken."

"In my past life, I was just a normal cat. But now, I carry the Legendary Bloodline of the Thunderous White Tiger—and among all Legendary Beasts, our kind possesses the sharpest senses when it comes to souls."

"I'm telling you… your soul and this body's origin are the same."

Reon fell into a daze.

The world around him began to blur.

Everything—the novel, the so-called protagonist, this fantastical world, even the fleeting happiness he'd found—it all suddenly felt like a cruel joke.

'I... I am Xue Taiyang?'

'Then who… who was Reon?'

'Who was it that died in the original story at Yang Lie's hands?'

'Who existed in this body before I came to this world?'

'Was that... me all along?'

'…have I always been Xue Taiyang?'

But before his spiraling thoughts could consume him—

WHOOSH!

A sudden rush of wind pulled Reon's attention forward.

The Celestial Elemental Heart, a Heavenly treasure known to choose its master by fate, hovered silently in the air.

It had remained still all this time, choosing neither Reon nor Nira.

Now it suddenly shot forward—like it had found its destined owner.

WHOOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, the Celestial Elemental Heart surged toward Cloudia—piercing directly into her chest like a beam of starlight.

Crackle!

But instead of harm—

Brilliant light erupted from her body as the Celestial Elemental Heart began to merge with her completely.

Whoosh!

The Heart… had completely merged with her.

Reon's eyes widened in disbelief, instantly yanked out of his thoughts.

"…Cloudia?" he whispered, stunned.

'W-Why… why did it choose Cloudia? Wasn't Nira the one who killed Xiao Yan?'

'Did it find her... unworthy?'

Then another thought struck him.

'Wait… is Xiao Yan even dead?'

As if in response, a familiar sound echoed in his mind:

DING!

System notifications appeared one after another:

[Host's Companion Beast Nira has slain the Son of Destiny, Xiao Yan. However, he is not entirely dead.]

[Xiao Yan's physical body has been destroyed, and he has lost his most prized Golden Finger— The Celestial Elemental Heart.]

[His Body-Bound Artifact activated at the last second, allowing him to barely survive.]

[Due to the loss of his Golden Finger, Xiao Yan's Protagonist Rank has been downgraded from A+ Rank to C- Rank.]

Reon let out a deep sigh.

'Tch… I knew it. No way an A+ Rank Protagonist would die that easily.'

Another chime rang:

[Xiao Yan has lost 25,000 Destiny Points, and 2,500 points of Heavenly Luck have been stolen.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained 250,000 Villain Points.]

Reon blinked.

'Damn…'