Chapter 20: The Reflection of Desire
Chris stood at the precipice, the weight of the world pressing down on him. His eyes, once filled with cold determination, were now clouded with a different kind of understanding. He had pondered for days, wandering the vast expanses of his mind, searching for the truth that had always eluded him.
Desire.
It had always been there. Not just in the world, but in him. A force, a power, a concept that had shaped his very existence. It wasn't a mistake. It wasn't some freak of fate. It was intentional.
A Sudden Clarity
Chris's mind raced, but there was a stillness to it now, an eerie calm as the answer revealed itself.
He never wanted this. Not the power, not the Eye, not the chaos that had enveloped his world. What he had wanted was simple: peace. A life where he could do nothing, exist, and just be. Lazy.
Yet, now, here he was, with the universe's very fabric wrapped around his fingers. He could shape the world, bend its rules, and yet, it was not what he sought. Regret lingered at the edges of his mind, but he dismissed it with a flick of his thoughts.
It wasn't regret. It was something else. Understanding.
Desire and Its Origin
The Eye swirled in the air, a swirling mass of infinite blackness and shifting tendrils. It hung before him, watching, as if it too was pondering the truth he was uncovering.
"You wanted to manipulate me, didn't you?" Chris muttered, almost to himself.
His voice was steady, yet there was an undercurrent of something darker, something ancient in it.
"You," he continued, addressing the Eye, "are not just an artifact. You're a concept, aren't you? You were born when Desire was. From the moment Desire first emerged in the vastness of nothingness, you began to shape the world."
He stepped closer to the Eye, the darkness swirling around him. It felt cold, but he was no longer afraid. He had become one with the void, one with the thing that made everything possible. Desire.
"You sealed me away, didn't you? You—concepts—feared me. The power I possessed, the world I could shape." Chris's eyes narrowed. "You sealed Desire. Made it human. And in doing so, you thought you could control me."
The Eye pulsed, and Chris could feel it, the intensity of the power, the shift in the air. The weight of reality itself seemed to quiver in response.
"But you never could seal me completely," Chris continued, the realization dawning on him with brutal clarity. "Because you, too, are part of me. You are what I desired."
A Reckoning with the Past
He had spent years, lifetimes even, thinking himself a pawn in the games of gods and concepts. But now, as the pieces of his fragmented understanding clicked into place, he knew better. He had always been in control.
Desire. It was not just a force. It was his force. It was the foundation of his existence, the cornerstone of everything he was. The Eye, the power, the abilities—it had all been created by the purest form of Desire. His own, his unspoken, undying will.
"You," Chris said softly, looking up at the Eye, "were made to be my tool. But now, I understand. You are no longer my master. I am your master."
The world trembled, just slightly. The winds shifted, the very fabric of reality seeming to stretch and warp, as if even the universe itself was listening.
"I never wanted to control. But I wanted to exist," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "And now, everything you feared, everything you tried to bury... I am."
The Great Unraveling
Chris felt the deep, primal pull of Desire stir within him, a burning force that surged through his veins. The Eye, the source of his new power, seemed to respond, its infinite black tendrils lashing out in the air, wrapping around his very soul.
"Nothing can bind me," Chris whispered, his voice growing louder, more confident. "Nothing can control me. I am Desire. I am the force that birthed the world."
Suddenly, the darkness that had enveloped Chris expanded outward. The world itself began to tremble.
A wave of power emanated from him, an invisible tsunami that pushed against the very laws of reality. The Eye pulsed brighter, darker, more unfathomable than ever before. It was as though the entire world was on the edge of a precipice, teetering between existence and oblivion.
The Great Silence
And then, as quickly as it had begun, there was silence.
Chris stood alone, his gaze locked on the Eye. It hung before him like a shadow, silent and still, awaiting his next command. And yet, despite the overwhelming power at his fingertips, Chris found himself calm. No more rage. No more chaos.
Just clarity.
"I've never wanted this," he muttered to himself, though it was not a confession. It was an affirmation.
But now, he realized, it didn't matter. Desire had never been about wanting. It was about being. And in that simple truth, Chris understood that he had become something more. He was no longer just a transmigrator or a vessel for power. He was Desire incarnate.
The Shift Begins
Above him, the Eye flickered. And for the first time since his awakening, Chris saw something different. A deep, infinite abyss stared back at him, but in it, there were no answers, only endless possibilities.
Chris reached out a hand, and the Eye responded. A multitude of eyes—like the soul king's eyes—appeared in the sky, each one a reflection of his own thoughts, his own desires, his own will.
His hand touched the Eye.
And in that moment, the world trembled once again.
Chris stood before the Eye, looking out over the infinite possibilities.
He was no longer a man, no longer a tool. He was the end and the beginning.
And the world? The world would bend to his desire.