"Sister, have you found your other half?"
In the evening, Artoria, who was tired and had gone to sleep early, suddenly felt a hot body slip into the covers, and she was pulled into a warm embrace. This feeling was exactly the same as the morning she arrived in this world. Before Artoria could kick the person out, a somewhat inscrutable voice reached her ears. Hearing Toni's question, Artoria opened her eyes. What was with this sister who thought about improper things all day? Artoria was puzzled; what kind of mischief was this person planning? Staring with her pale gold eyes, Artoria looked at Toni, wanting to know what she was trying to express.
"You've been ignoring me lately. You disappear before dawn and come back very late. Do you have someone you like, Artoria?"
Feeling Artoria's gaze upon her, Toni lifted her head and stared straight into Artoria's eyes without flinching. Her eyes held a different kind of look—hollow, yet with a chill that made one tremble. Artoria didn't know what it meant, but she felt something was very wrong. Inwardly, she felt a sense of dread toward the current Toni. Having watched many anime in her past life, Artoria knew there was a type of lifeform called a 'Yandere.' Though she had never seen one, she felt that Toni at this moment was very similar to those characters with that attribute.
"I'm ignoring you because you're annoying. I'm currently training my newly acquired power. Go back to your room."
Just as she was about to comfort Toni, Artoria's mind suddenly went blank, and she blurted out those words—something she would never normally say to drive someone away. This left Artoria quite bewildered, but the effect seemed excellent. After hearing this, Toni showed no resentment at all. Her hollow eyes brightened, and far from being dissatisfied with Artoria's words, she seemed satisfied instead. She hugged Artoria contentedly, appearing very pleased with the answer.
"Ah~!"
Seeing her satisfaction, Artoria subconsciously arched an eyebrow and instinctively kicked Toni out of her covers, rolling herself up in them. This behavior wasn't Artoria's intention, but such a fluid motion wasn't a habit that could be formed overnight. Artoria glanced at Toni as she climbed back up; the girl wasn't angry, as if this had happened countless times before. After wishing Artoria goodnight, she left the room and stopped bothering her. This behavior was truly bizarre. Artoria felt as if her body was being controlled, subconsciously saying and doing things she would never normally do. This made her realize the situation was far from simple.
"Could it be that the consciousness of this body's original owner is starting to resist and reject me?"
The sudden realization jolted Artoria from her drowsy state. This must be the result of devouring or merging with the original consciousness of this body! Artoria looked at her hands; those hands, white as jade, were exactly the same as her original body's. This situation was similar to 'body snatching' yet slightly different. body snatching was an intentional act, whereas Artoria's was unconscious. Artoria had her original body; she just wanted to go back. If she stayed in this body forever, not only would she be unable to return, but she might also devour or merge with the original owner's consciousness.
"Just as you suspected, the owner of this body has begun to recover some consciousness. It's truly surprising. Even if the six Infinity Stones aren't actively suppressing it, the energy emitted by their mere presence should be enough to completely destroy that consciousness. Yet, she not only survived but has begun to fight back against you. It seems the owner of this body was extremely powerful. You must be careful with your upcoming training, because you could be counter-devoured at any time. If you cannot stop her backlash, you will be eliminated by her."
After lying in bed all night without resting, Artoria got up early and went to Kamar-Taj to explain her loss of self-control to the Ancient One. This surprised the Ancient One, who kept circling around Artoria. After her detection, she gave Artoria a result that wasn't very good. This result made Artoria's face turn dark. No one wants to die, especially not being killed by a parallel Universe version of themselves; that was truly terrifying.
"Do not worry, there is still time. Today we will no longer practice power control; you have already done very well. You have one week. I am going to send you somewhere. Use your power and fight! Stimulate your potential. But that place is very dangerous; you might 'die'."
Seeing what Artoria was worried about, the Ancient One spoke to her solemnly. The current situation was far more complex than she had imagined. She thought that under the power of the Infinity Stones, the original soul would be suppressed or even slowly dissipate, then be unconsciously consumed by Artoria. She hadn't expected this body's consciousness to be so strong that even the Infinity Stones couldn't suppress it. Part of this was also because Artoria hadn't mastered the Infinity Stones.
But at its root, it was because this body's consciousness was strong enough. Now, she and Artoria were like performing surgery on a Beast without anesthesia; the Beast could lash out at any moment, yet they didn't even have a way to anesthetize it. It was truly an awkward situation. The Ancient One hadn't originally intended to let Artoria use her newly learned power control to fight so soon, but time was running out. If Artoria couldn't accomplish this, then she couldn't predict what would happen next—whether the original consciousness would defeat Artoria, or vice versa. Even if they didn't want to harm the Beast, the Beast had to be able to understand their goodwill.
"When you are ready, come find me, Artoria."
Since it concerned her life, she left the choice to Artoria. There were only two paths before her: one was to do as the Ancient One said, and the other was for Artoria to become strong enough on her own to suppress the body's consciousness, keeping it quiet until she could leave this world. The latter had a low chance of success. No matter how similar Artoria was to her counterpart, this was still the other's body. Moreover, with the other's consciousness being so strong, the possibility of Artoria suppressing her was minimal. Artoria really only had one choice.
"No need for preparations. Let's head out now!"
Even if just to go home sooner and return this body to the version of herself in this world, Artoria decided to take the risk. She didn't want to steal the body from the self of this world; she just wanted to leave it and return to her own world as soon as possible. Without any hesitation, Artoria chose the dangerous path. She directly transformed into her black Spirit Gear and spoke seriously to the Ancient One. Once she made a decision, she wouldn't change it.
"Your future will surely be that of a powerful Venerable, Artoria. I look forward to your future."
Artoria's lack of hesitation brought a flash of admiration to the Ancient One's eyes. Juniors willing to take risks were far too rare nowadays; she hadn't seen one in a long time. Back when they were innovating and researching new magic, they did so at the risk of their lives. So many fell on the road to finding 'new lands.' Without those people, where would all this rich magical knowledge come from? Today's juniors had no desire for innovation, merely enjoying the peace on the roads paved by their predecessors, lacking any spirit of adventure.
"Child, good luck. Do not forget what I said: no matter what the power is, it comes from the heart. There is no distinction of evil; it only depends on how you wield it. Do not lose yourself."
Forming a strange hand seal, the space in front of the Ancient One began to distort, and a bizarre stone gate appeared. The gate was eerily covered in dense carvings of statues that looked terrifyingly lifelike. Every person depicted was in extreme agony. At the seam of the gate were two grinning demons, their stone eyes staring fixedly forward with cunning and deep malice. Seeing this, Artoria didn't need to guess to know it was the gate to Hell. As the Ancient One gave her final instructions, the stone gate slowly opened. Artoria glanced at the Ancient One, said nothing, and plunged inside. The moment she entered, the stone gate slammed shut. The two demons gave a bizarre laugh, and then the gate vanished.
"Good luck, Artoria."
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