Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

Rio looked at the physical form of Godmother, as he stood in front of her, flames of hell burning all around them, setting whatever was left of this dungeon world on fire.

Ashes and smoke drafted the air, along with the putrid smell of burnt meat and sap.

Since the godmother merged with the sacred trees, she also sucked the life out of all her followers. The blind believers of this planet had their souls already controlled by her magic, and to increase her strength she consumed them all.

This method of controlling people was also what inspired Rio to make his plan and pretend to be dead, going as far as to risk his own body and doing soul transfer into a native.

As an entity created up by the world's will, tasked to protect the core of it, godmother had everything this world was possibly possible of. She could go anywhere, see anything, control anything, - she was literally the overseer of this planet.

Nothing and no one could go against her wishes. She could change the rules and laws of this world at her commands. Giving things properties and permissions they normally wouldn't have.

Like how seeds of fruits or crystals of monsters which are used to heal and recover, turned into beads of magic that can enslave someone's consciousness, turning them into mindless puppets.

That's how she controlled the original outlanders, humans who came here through the spaceship, or other invasive races which came through portals and wormholes - over time everyone alive here turned into her slave, same thing with Valtor.

If not for Rio's twistedly broken mind or a little help from the system staying there, he too might have been turned into a puppet.

After all, he and Valtor were the primary targets of godmother from the moment they stepped foot on this planet. Their dark magic was a thing of prophecy that's been scaring godmother for eons after all.

That's why they were both teleported directly into deep forests, away from all the other students. Surrounded by monsters who'll keep wearing them out for days and nights, so she can start controlling them when they eat those seeds.

Her plan did fail and she had to change her method when she noticed that even after Valtor was in her bag, there was no abnormality in Rio.

Whatever he ate was just gobbled down by gluttony, and no magic trace or control could be left behind in his body for her to take root.

"I gotta say, figuring out your tricks was tough. Took me a while to uncover how this world works, how you work." Rio said, a little genuine appreciation in his voice as he crossed hands with the godmother.

"When did you notice?" she asked, taking a couple steps back.

"At the beginning, I mean a floating tree in the middle that everyone prays to in a fanatical method, it's kind of a dead giveaway don't you think?"

"So you sent your shadow to check things out?" Godmother finished his words.

"Yupp, after all, I didn't know what you were capable of, and I'm no fool who'll pick a fight with a Meru dungeon's protector without any gurantee."

"But I still killed you? I made sure it was you, no clone, no magic, it was the real you." Godmother said in confusion, their curiosity about each other's tricks compelling them to halt their fight and talk it over first.

"Hmm no, you killed my body." Rio replied with a chuckle and explained, "You see people born in Arcadia have a different way of dealing with souls and afterlife. When we die, our souls don't just disappear into heaven or hell, light and dark, or rebirth and regression cycles, our souls get sent somewhere else, someplace magical."

"Where?" Godmother asked, raising an eyebrow, but Rio just started shaking his head

"To answer that I'll have to explain all about creation of arcadia, gods, demons, deals - it's too complicated , so I'll skip that one."

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"However the crux of the matter is, if we die in a dungeon that isn't fully connected to arcadia yet, we linger, until the moment it does docked in, and then we get sent straight through the veil** and to the other side."

"I've checked every one of your friends' memories, no one else knows that."

"Yeah, well, I'm special." Rio just shrugged his shoulders, smiling over the perks of being the only reincarnated reader.

"So you sensed something off with Valtor, but how'd you know my hive mind, or the fact that I can see everything?"

"Ohh that one was easy actually, as I said, floating trees, similar in seven cities, the only constant in this war torn world. Plus the chains wrapped over every native's head connected to the branches of sacred trees, whose roots know no ends. - dead giveaway."

"The skill of soul travel I have only works on targets I kill, for only five minutes since their deaths. And they shan't be a part of arcadia.

So I killed Dayum, waited until you finally couldn't hold back and ordered Valtor to kill me, and right before the sword pierced my heart, I hopped into his body and slipped away." Rio explained his 'rebirth' answering the question before godmother even asked it.

"I've been controlling these natives for ages, always watching their every move by controlling their souls,..."

"Yupp, and that's why when you saw my lifeless soulless corpse, you got lax, didn't check anything else and started focusing somewhere else." Rio said and shook his head, "Though I don't blame you, eons of being in power, of being in control of everything, of course you'll be overconfident."

"Hmm, but what would've happened if I destroyed your original body?" The godmother asked curiously, "Instead of saving it for the sacrifice, what if I just burned it to the ground, or ate it all, what then?"

"That would've been bad. Cause then I'll forever be stuck in Dayum's form. That burly bouncer body really isn't my style." Rio said honestly, "As for why I was ready to take the risk, well, that was just a guess."

"A guess?"

"Yeah, well, people in power often tend to hang the heads of those they hunted. And the head of the cursed one who's been haunting you for ages is kinda the best trophy ever. It was obvious you wouldn't just let it disappear."

"A bold move." Godmother said and nodded her head.

After all, he was right, she did plan to preserve his body and give it to the world's will of Phronesia once this dungeon raid was over and their link to Arcadia gets severed.

"Yupp." Rio nodded his head, hiding the fact that it's not that easy to destroy his physical form completely. After all, his body is the prized possession for Nyx, Erebus, Apollo, Lucifer, and to top it all, the demon lord Ditail.

"Now your turn to answer." Rio said, speaking his mind in this game of doubts. "Tell me, why the wars? Why let these natives fight and kill each other over and over again?"

"I thought you already knew that." Godmother replied with a smile.

"Enlighten me."

"It's cause I was bored."

"...."

"Were you expecting a grand reason behind this?" Seeing his silence, godmother chuckled and asked.

"I don't know. May be. These were natives. People born here, raised here. They praise you, pray to you, then why the disregard?"

"Cause they're weak." Godmother replied.

"Were you afraid that if you let them be, they'll grow stronger than you?" Rio asked, refusing to believe things could be that simple.

"A little in the beginning. As the world kept developing, they kept getting stronger and stronger and stronger. I knew if I didn't limit them, I'd be crushed. Someone will surpass me, take my place or I'll be gone."

Godmother explained, "But don't look at me like I'm insane, it's not just me, every World Will does this in their own way. Some split their continents apart, turning natives into opposing factions. Some pour down nature's wrath and erase everything to wipe the slate clean. And some just form thunderstorms and calamity clouds in the sky and call it tribulations.

These are all excuses, moves made by the planet so - It Stays Strong."

Rio kept listening as the godmother explained how a world will actually thinks and works. His system had told him similar things before, about how they were made to control world wills, so they don't just ruin the creation of the creator, and balance keeps existing in the universe.

But at that time he just joked and laughed imagining his funny little system as a supervisor, - but he understood it a little now.

Just a little.

A mortal's brain wondering about how Immortals, Eternals and Neverends works - isn't easy after all.

"So you turned them all into your slaves, then what? What's the fun in watching puppets fight, whose strings are in your hands?" Rio asked to change the topic.

Godmother replied, "Do you have any idea how long is an eternity? Or how old I am, how I have to stay in one place, guard this world and just watch as the time passes by?"

"Love, hope, kindness - it's all a facade that fades in the long rivers of time."

"Wow,. Truly the words of a villain." Rio said and shook his head. This planet killed millions, maybe billions over the years, basically all just because it was bored. That's some next level crazy shit.

No wonder this unmotivated psycho fuckfest was put by fate in front of the beginner Leon, who's head deep into righteousness. Cause the Leon of later parts might even agree and sympathize with the Godmother at some point.

' Of course as a hero he'll kill her in both cases nonetheless, but still.. '

"Anything else you wanna ask, before I kill you?" Godmother said, bringing his attention back to reality.

"Nice joke, but you're right. Let me ask something else, something that doesn't dive into your psychotic philosophy, how'd you survive?"

"You mean those bombs you planted, or the flames of sun and the frosty ice, or maybe the death of nature and birth of chaos. - Each of my children possessed a part of my abilities, one who could control souls, one life and death, one mind and imagination, one the land and other the sky - yet all of them died in your friends' hands. They really brought me many surprises."

"But as you said, souls. As long as I have enough nutrients, I can give them power, heal them, and bring them back over and over again."

"Then why didn't you do that? And why'd you kill everyone now?" Rio asked, noticing not a single trace of life was left in this dungeon except the surviving students.

He was cruel, but this godmother was crueler. She herself pulled the triggers on them, before even him.

"To kill you of course. I've realized the prophecy is real, you are real. And that 'd only lose if I don't take you seriously, so here I am, in my real form, face to face with the one destined to spell my doom. It's kinda making me nervous actually." Godmother said.

"Talking about destiny, any idea where this prophecy comes from?" Rio asked the main question, something which had been bugging him ever since he heard it.

This prophecy about a devil ending worlds, destroying everything in his wake, was something Noah was supposed to say years ago, something he stopped in the cradle. Yet here it was.

In a way which wasn't written, in a dungeon which didn't exist in the novel, was it really fate's work, trying to put things in place, or is this something else?

"I'm barely 18, and from what I found, it's been going around for centuries, maybe even longer back in history. You're the godmother, you should know better than Baani, Dayum or anyone else I hunted."

"Who knows?" Godmother replied honestly, her eyes showing signs of melancholy as she thought about her past, "I just know it's the one thing that's been with me ever since I was born. Maybe it's the only thing I inherited from the world's will of Phronesia along with my mission."

"Humm, well, then I'll guess I'll find out the truth once I kill you and take that crystal home." Rio said confidently. And the Godmother responded with the same tone. "You can't kill me."

"Ohh yeah, and what makes you think that?"

"You blasted my whole world, killed my children, snatched my puppet, and burned thousands of my toys with those weird bombs.." Godmother said, and as she spoke her figure shrunk to his height, and the aura on her body doubled instantly. "So I'm angry now."

"Humph, Lot of good your anger will do." Rio sneered and raised his sword again. "I'm about to whoop your ass.."

"But before we fight, let's play a game. A game between us villains. Its name is Guess who?"

Before Rio's raised sword could slash at the godmother's body, she disappeared in the clouds completely, leaving no sign or trace of her anywhere.

"I've taken a page out of your travel book, my cursed one, let's see if you can see the souls as clear as I do."

The faint voice echoed along the air, and Rio watched as all the surviving students stood up, their bodies fully healed in tip top conditions.

Everyone's eyes were filled with confusion, as if they had all woken up from a long sleep.

"System, any guess what this guessing game is all about?"

[I would answer, but _ I remember someone muted me earlier.]

"... You happy, now tell me, what's this godmother planning? She didn't just talk to me for so long, just to disappear and play games?"

[That's exactly what she did. While you were busy chatting, she was setting up this stage, so just watch and learn.] System said, without explaining anything, [ohh, and one more thing, before you slash someone, make sure to guess right.]

"What?" System, explain, what you mean guess right?

[.... ]

'Bitch' seeing that the bastard went silent again, Rio just turned his attention back to the students. Wondering what tricks godmother pulled now.

'She said a page out of my book, so something I did, or do, but what?' Rio wondered thoughtfully, only to be stunned by the scenes unfolding in front of him next.

He watched as Valtor suddenly turned over and tried to stab Amaya, how Amelia stood up and tried to assassinate Rebecca. Alaric grew his fangs and attacked Seraphina, how Kevin started trying to force himself on Vanessa. And the Heathe was attacking Leon with a sinister smile on his face.

"Ohh fuck no..." Rio cursed as a terrible guess came to his mind seeing everyone's weird, out of character behaviors.

[Ohh fuck yes.] System replied instantly, as it realized its host had grasped the main setting of this game, [She couldn't transfer souls, but consciousness, now that's right up her alley.]

[Better be careful, host. You don't wanna slice up your girlfriend in someone else's body.] System joked, barely controlling its laugh, looking at the weird expression on Rio's face as he saw his bald monk virgin roommate on his knees with a rose and a ring in his hand, trying to propose to Saisha, who just stared back at him.

"I hate this game."