what if I'm an undead! then so what?-Chapter 50: Plot twist

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Elias?"

The voice drifted from deep within the dimly lit house, shrouded in shadows that crept along the walls like a living thing. Elias paused just inside the threshold, his boots creaking softly on the aged wooden floor. Though his eyes struggled against the darkness, his ears caught every nuance of that voice—and he remembered it. A voice from distant memories, tethered to warmth and familiarity.

"Long time, Uncle," Elias replied, though uncertainty laced his tone. Something was off. Not quite wrong—but far from right. The air in the house felt thick, like a soup of silence and static.

A figure emerged from the deeper gloom of the sitting room, his features barely visible in the flickering light of a solitary oil lamp. He gestured casually toward an empty chair, his lips curled into a smile that felt more like a mask than a welcome.

"What brings you here?" the man asked, settling into his own seat with deliberate ease, as though everything were perfectly normal.

Elias remained standing for a moment, eyes scanning the room. The familiar setting of his uncle’s house had subtle alterations—minute shifts in the placement of trinkets, an absence of creaky floorboards where he knew they should groan. Finally, he sat down, though unease coiled in his chest like a serpent.

"My father said he’d spoken to you," Elias began, keeping his voice level. "He told me that once I found you, you’d know what to do next."

The man chuckled softly, rubbing his temple. "Ah, yes. That conversation. Forgive me—my memory hasn’t been what it used to be. I’ve been feeling rather unwell. You might say I’m experiencing... an unusual strain of forgetfulness. A rare case of amnesia, even."

He turned away, retrieving a glass of water from a nearby table and offering it to Elias with a grin that barely concealed the strain behind it.

But Elias didn’t reach for the glass. His body remained perfectly still, and in the next moment, a brilliant golden radiance burst forth from within him. The energy shimmered and rippled across the room, washing over furniture and walls, shaking dust loose from the beams above.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

His voice came from behind the man. In a blink, Elias had moved, blurring through space like a lightning bolt made flesh. His hand hovered at the back of the man’s head, glowing with lethal energy, poised to strike.

The man lifted his hands slowly, fingers spread in surrender. "Who am I? That’s the real question, isn’t it? But truly, I’m your uncle. You’ll see. Believe it."

But Elias’s instincts screamed otherwise.

With no hesitation, he released the energy. A thin beam of golden light shot forward, slicing through flesh and bone, incinerating the man’s head in a burst of radiance. His body slumped forward, lifeless—at least, for a moment.

Then it twitched.

Convulsions rippled through the corpse, and its skin began to darken unnaturally. Veins bulged, pulsating with erratic movement as though something inside was trying to crawl out.

"I knew it wasn’t him," Elias murmured, voice low and tight. His gaze swept the room for signs of other intruders. "But where... where is my real uncle?"

A giggle echoed from the direction of the body—high-pitched, wet, and thoroughly inhuman. Elias turned just in time to see a small, worm-like creature burst from the chest cavity, carving a narrow hole through rotted ribs and curling out onto the wooden floor.

It was no more than a few inches long, with a slimy, pale body that shimmered faintly in the golden light. Its face, grotesquely humanoid in miniature, curled into a grin that mocked everything sacred.

"I can’t say for certain that wasn’t your uncle," it said, voice sly and full of amusement. It slithered across the floor to perch atop the cooling corpse. "But I’ll admit—you were faster than I expected. Not many hesitate so little before killing their own blood."

"What do you mean?" Elias snapped, already forming a shield of energy around himself, ready for a fight.

The worm chuckled again, stretching its body as if enjoying the warmth of the room. "I’m a yokai. I feed on memories, emotions, experiences. Your uncle had a rich supply—at least, toward the end. When I first found him, he was dull, barely interesting. But then he started remembering you, and oh, what a treasure trove you turned out to be. Especially that curious thing... the Gift of God, was it? Fascinating stuff."

"You monster," Elias growled. Without another word, he brought his boot down with crushing force.

The worm didn’t flinch.

A pulse of energy shimmered around it—an invisible barrier that blocked Elias’s strike, sending shockwaves rippling through the floorboards.

Elias recoiled in surprise. "That’s... Primordial Energy! But that’s impossible!"

"Not impossible," the worm replied smugly. "Just... borrowed. You see, I didn’t just feed on your uncle’s memories. I devoured his soul, his life force, his very essence. Everything he was, everything he knew—it’s mine now. So in a way... I am your uncle. At least, what’s left of him."

Elias’s breath caught. The room darkened slightly, the golden light around him intensifying in reaction to his rising fury.

"You disgusting parasite," he hissed. A massive spectral hand formed above the worm, its fingers curled inwards like claws of divine judgment.

But once more, the yokai summoned a counterforce. A construct materialized above it—a mirrored hand made of swirling black and gold energies. The two forces clashed in the air, sparks flying from their collision.

"You can use a Soul Sentinel too?" Elias stepped back, stunned.

"Why not?" the worm said with a smug curl of its lip. "Your uncle’s memories, techniques, instincts... I absorbed them all. He was nearly as strong as your father, wasn’t he? It’s all in here now. Anything he could do—I can do as well."

Elias rose into the air, his fury igniting. Golden swords burst into existence around him, rotating like planets in orbit. Each blade hummed with deadly intent.

"I’d rethink that, if I were you," the worm said, calm yet pointed. "You may not realize it, but I carry your uncle’s emotions, too. Hatred isn’t part of them. In fact, when I look at you... I feel something close to affection. Like a nephew I once cared for."

Elias froze mid-air. His hands trembled, but not from fear.

"You talk too much," he said, and with a snap of his fingers, the swords vanished into glittering particles. He dropped to the floor, standing still. "You’re lucky. For now."

He turned toward the corpse, guilt pressing against his heart like an iron weight.

"Don’t beat yourself up," the worm said, voice lighter now. "Your uncle was almost completely hollow by the end. Maybe two days’ worth of identity left. If you’d arrived a little later, I would’ve finished consuming what remained—and gained control as well, you wouldn’t have known the difference."

Elias didn’t respond immediately. Then, with a sigh, he asked, "Do you have to look like that? Talking to a worm is... revolting."

The creature tilted its head. After a pause, it gave a curious grin. "You prefer this?"

With a ripple of energy, its form shifted. Muscles, skin, and features molded rapidly until it stood as a humanoid boy no older than fourteen. He wore silver garments like Elias’s own. Half of his hair gleamed gold; the other side shimmered in a soft pastel pink. His eyes mirrored the same colors—golden on the right, pastel pink on the left.

Elias staggered backward as if struck. "Morga—No! You monster! How dare you take that form!"

A cold energy swept through the house. Floorboards cracked soon after the house itself followed crumbling to the ground, The very earth began to tremble as darkness poured upward like smoke made solid. From the ground, a massive hand of obsidian emerged, grasping at the earth.

"I’ll destroy you for that!" Elias roared.

More of the titan’s body erupted through the rift—a massive head with blank white eyes and a body that sparkled like the night sky.

"Whoa! Hold on! It was just a joke!" the boy yelled, retreating. His form burst into golden light and collapsed back into the original worm shape.

But the damage was done.

Another colossal hand burst forth, gripping the world like it intended to drag it under.

"What’s happening?! I said stop!" the worm screamed, now genuinely panicked.

"I don’t know!" Elias replied, equally alarmed. "It won’t listen to me. It’s acting on its own!"

"Think, idiot!" the worm barked. "You summoned it! But you’re doing it wrong—this isn’t just power you can recall. It’s a link! Close it like you’d seal a Soul Sentinel!"

Elias’s eyes widened. He focused inward, narrowing the flow of energy. Golden light radiated from his irises until it became a blinding burst that detonated outward, leveling everything in a two-hundred-meter radius.

The rift began to close.

The hand of the titan shuddered, resisting for a moment, then finally withdrew, sinking back into the abyss as the earth sealed itself once more.

Elias collapsed to one knee, drenched in sweat, chest heaving.

"Close call," the worm muttered, still trembling. "Too close."