THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 701: The Truth Behind the Abyss (1)

Audrey vanished in a flash of crimson light, leaving Frey in total solitude.

She had intended her actions to serve as a warning—a desperate bid to drag Frey from the shadows and grant him a glimpse of the world's hidden truths, of which he was entirely ignorant.

However, the outcome was the exact opposite.

Instead of guiding him, her revelations utterly broke him.

"Agaroth kept me alive all this time because I’m the key to breaking his seal... And Odin... the most enigmatic of the Great Ones... is actually a disaster on the same level as the Demon King..."

Frey whispered these words slowly as he collapsed onto the frigid stone floor.

"Audrey... what am I supposed to do with this information?"

The way Audrey appeared, the tone of her voice, and the depth of emotion in her gaze—none of it suggested a first encounter.

They were the actions of someone who knew him intimately.

Someone who understood his very soul.

Unconsciously, Frey traced his lips, replaying the encounter as he struggled to find logic in the chaos.

Agaroth. Odin. Himself. And Nameless.

A connection existed between these names—a thread that bound them together, pulling them toward an inevitable clash.

"I’ve only lived twice... once as Frey Starlight, the life I lead now... and once as an ordinary human who knew nothing of this world... So how can Audrey know me?"

"What is missing from my own history? What... exactly am I?"

Frey let out a sharp breath, his internal frustration and impatience reaching a boiling point.

Acting on instinct, his hand reached out to grab the cold black mask, pressing it firmly against his face.

"Answer me... Nameless."

The moment that name left his lips...

Frey’s consciousness plummeted into the dark.

He descended further and further into that familiar void where the campfire burned without end. His alternate selves—remnants from different eras of his life—were seated around the flames as usual. Ignoring them, Frey marched deeper into the gloom, heading toward the furthest corner of the abyss.

His power had reached new heights since his battle with Wisker. Furthermore, after he absorbed Audrey’s aura, his bond with Nameless had intensified enough to pierce the fog that previously obstructed his path.

A few more strides...

Then he came to a halt.

He stared down with a frigid expression.

There he sat.

The entity that struck terror into the hearts of countless demons.

Nameless was seated on a plain chair, his chest bare and feet uncovered, with his head hanging low. His long white hair was a perfect match for Frey’s, and the black metal mask concealed his features. Broken chains scattered the ground around him—evidence that he had long since liberated himself.

It was proof that he possessed the power to fight or seize Frey’s body at any given moment.

And yet...

He remained motionless.

He sat in a heavy, stagnant silence.

Frey’s jaw tightened.

"How much longer do you intend to sit there? How long will you continue to refuse to act?"

He dropped to one knee to meet Nameless at eye level, though Nameless didn't bother to look up.

"Here. Take my body again. I won't put up a fight this time."

Frey’s voice was low and steady—unnervingly so.

"If it’s you, I’m certain you can manage everything. You possess more strength than I do. You understand the workings of this world. No one can manipulate you the way they manipulate me."

"So take it. Claim my body. Do as you wish with it. Just give me one promise... save a specific group of people. Keep them alive."

A forced, pained smile touched Frey’s lips.

"It’s a fair trade, isn't it? It shouldn't be a difficult task for you."

Silence followed.

Nameless remained as still as a statue.

Then, slowly, he lifted his head, and his glowing violet eyes finally met Frey’s gaze.

A shiver raced down Frey's spine.

Finally, Nameless uttered a single word.

"No."

That was all.

Just one word.

Frey’s face contorted with fury.

"No? What do you mean, no?!"

He lunged to grab Nameless by the head, but he was frozen mid-air by an unseen force.

Even so, Frey screamed:

"You and your disciples forced me to be your vessel! My entire life turned into a nightmare because of you! And now that I’m finally offering it to you... you refuse?!"

"Then tell me... what is it you want?!"

His roar vibrated through the void, making the very walls tremble.

"Answer me! Nameless!"

At last...

Nameless moved.

Slowly. With purpose.

His voice was calm... far too calm.

"I... do not know."

Frey went still.

"...What?"

Nameless raised his hands, observing them with a look of confusion, his fingers twitching slightly.

His aura flared—wild and erratic—reminding Frey of the true nature of the being before him.

"I don’t know what is happening to me. I don’t know why I am here. Or what my function is."

The legendary king who was once devoid of feeling...

The heartless being who once looked upon the world with absolute coldness...

Now clenched his fists tightly.

His aura erupted in a fierce shockwave.

"I have never experienced anything like this before... These emotions..."

For the first time in his long existence...

Nameless was feeling.

And the most bizarre part?

These feelings did not originate from him.

They belonged to Frey Starlight.

And somehow... they were spilling over into Nameless.

Nameless was beginning to feel exactly what Frey felt.

"When you suffer... I suffer as well. When you mourn... your grief flows into me. Your happiness, your agony... everything."

Nameless spoke with a heavy tone, followed by a quiet sigh.

"I never knew emotions could be so... excruciating. So loud and unbearable. They are truly... a curse."

The word 'curse' was the perfect description for what Nameless perceived in Frey’s pain—the very core of human suffering.

"You’ve been there... inside me this whole time."

Frey finally grasped the truth—Nameless had been a witness from the start, watching the despair, the fury, and the grief. He had experienced Frey’s memories as if they were his own.

Because of this, something within Nameless had shifted.

Frey’s torment—something the emotionless king had never encountered—had stirred a foreign presence within him.

Possessing these emotions forced Nameless to remember his own history... the blood he spilled, the devastation he caused, and the infinite lives he extinguished in his quest for power and Dao.

He was no savior, nor was he a righteous king.

He was a monster—one who had caused more death than the Demon King himself.

"Are you... feeling remorse?"

Frey questioned. Nameless remained silent for a beat before answering in a soft voice.

"I do not know."

He couldn't define the sensation, but it was a feeling that should not exist in the heart of a being like him.

Frey composed himself, attempting to process it all.

"You said before that you don’t know why you exist within me. What did you mean?"

If this was intended to be the resurrection of Nameless—a process of turning Frey into a vessel—then his lack of knowledge was nonsensical. Frey suspected a lie... but the masked man had no motive for deception.

"I do not know what Gehrman is trying to accomplish... or what his ultimate objective is. My current memories are restricted to what is stored within the mask. That is why my very existence is incomplete."