[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel":3,"chapter-reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-chapter-116":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Reincarnated as the Final Villain's Vessel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},699879,934,"Chapter 116: Illusory threads","reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-chapter-116",116,"\u003Cp>In a separate room, Leona sat on a stone platform covered with some cloths as a temporary bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In her hand was an essence stone that had already lost its luster, but Leona didn’t bother replacing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, she sat there, sensing the new power flowing through her body after advancing to the Advanced sub-rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now she felt that she could form layers of essence over her hand and weapons, even if they were fragile and not entirely stable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She opened her eyes again, hiding the stone that had already lost its glow, before looking at her hand that was bound in a splint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She extended her other hand and removed the temporary splint, then stretched and bent it repeatedly. She even threw a few quick punches into the air, a smile forming on her lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is much better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was true that she wasn’t healed one hundred percent, but she could now fight comfortably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, she lay back on the temporary bed, covering herself with a blanket she had gotten from Caius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leona closed her eyes in exhaustion, sinking into the peaceful darkness around her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It only took a few minutes before she fell into a deep sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, she had a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dream where many thin threads wrapped around her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leona tried to move to free herself... but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to scream... but she couldn’t scream either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the threads burrowed deeper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And slowly, Leona began to lose herself... her will.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until she was no longer Leona, Leona.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All she felt in that moment was fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep, primal fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahhh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With clear panic, Leona woke up in her dark room. She pulled herself into a sitting position, breathing heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What... what was that dream?\" she muttered under her rapid breaths as she supported herself upright on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She raised her hand to her face and rubbed it, trying to dispel the lingering effect of the dream. \"Maybe I’m just tired from this place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She thought perhaps the uncomfortable conditions and the recent events were what had caused her to see such a dream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She lay down again and tried to sleep, but to no avail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time she closed her eyes, those scenes returned again and again without stopping. So, with a tired sigh, she got up from the bed and left the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked through the narrow corridor connecting the rooms before stepping out into the same cave they had used in the past days as their base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was now asleep or resting, except for the one assigned to guard duty at this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she stepped into the cave, she noticed there was no sunlight illuminating the place like in previous days. Instead, strands of warm orange light filled it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She walked quietly toward the entrance, and there she saw the sky beginning to turn dark as the shattered moon showed its first signs in the sky along with a few bright stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she stepped outside, she took a deep breath of the warm air, her eyes catching the sun that had vanished, leaving only a streak of orange radiance on the horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she wasn’t alone at that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there, beside the entrance, Caius sat on a rock in a meditative posture with an essence stone in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Leona approached, he opened his eyes and turned his head toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Couldn’t sleep?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head. \"No... I think I have a bit of insomnia, so I couldn’t go back to sleep after waking up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked at him with her usual smile. \"If you want, I can take your place while you go rest.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caius shook his head. \"No need. There are only a few hours left before we set out, and I don’t need it anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he said that, Leona didn’t insist. Instead, she looked at the stone in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I have to say, you’re really persistent... every spare moment you spend just training.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since she had known Caius a few months ago, she had realized he was extremely diligent in his training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, more often than not, she would find him in the training halls, and every time she passed by his assigned training room, it would be empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, ever since they arrived here, he hadn’t stopped, except for brief moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leona stared at him. \"I wonder what reason makes you push yourself like this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caius sighed, speaking in his usual tone. \"I don’t understand why you’re so curious about this poor farmer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leona smiled widely. \"I don’t know about poor, but you don’t look like a farmer to me... you have a better appearance than most nobles. Maybe even the best, from what I’ve seen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mischievous smile formed on his face. \"What a generous compliment, milady. But you can’t tempt me that easily.\" It was obvious he was joking, so Leona wasn’t bothered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She raised a brow. \"Tempt?... Don’t worry, you’re not my type anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Leona walked over and sat on the same large rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But seriously, who are your parents?\" She asked this with low hope of receiving an answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But contrary to her expectations, Caius replied without much thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Really? Didn’t you try searching for them through your name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caius sighed. \"I did, but it was useless.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turned her head and looked at him for a few moments. \"Maybe you’re the illegitimate son of some noble from another empire, or their lost child they’re searching for.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She placed her hand on her chin as if genuinely thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then when you become famous enough and your face reaches them, they’ll recognize you and want to take you back. Then your life will start changing like in those movies.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caius looked at her. \"Leona, maybe you should cut back on drama movies or whatever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her response was a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I wasn’t joking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caius’ POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With every step I took, the sand shifted beneath my feet as the others and I walked along the stone wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun had completely disappeared, leaving only a trace of its light on the horizon, while the fragments of the shattered moon became clearer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now we were searching for an entrance to this stone maze that seemed to have formed naturally somehow, because I certainly don’t remember a place like this existing before I died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So how far do you think it stretches north?\" I asked Kyle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before we moved, Kyle had climbed up and looked at the maze from above to get an idea of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t see its end even after using my ability, so it’s at least a few hundred kilometers,\" he said calmly, as usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, climbing and moving from above in a straight line wasn’t an option. That would make us free meals for those large monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A natural maze hundreds of kilometers wide. How wonderful... just how much has the earth changed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how true were those old stories, like that rift that split the sky and the darkness that seeped from it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So are we really in Africa as I suspect?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the earth has changed this much, we might even be at the bottom of what was once an ocean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, all I wanted was to head north... in truth, I didn’t have any real plan to return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All I was relying on was a faint instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the deadly silence of the desert, we walked without speaking. The tension was clearly drawn on everyone’s faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was true they were doing well—maintaining their composure and thinking rationally, even after finding themselves in this unknown world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how long would that last?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike me, everyone had something tying them to Aetheron... their families and friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of that was motivation for them to continue, but it would also gnaw at them over time... especially if we stayed here long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the corner of my eye, I glanced at Kyle . This quiet, soft-spoken hunter on the surface, yet beneath his eyes I could see the tension and panic slowly accumulating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I understood where that came from. After all, he had left his little sister behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A weak and sick sister, receiving constant care, and any delay in paying the bills could lead to her being abandoned by the hospital she was in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing Kyle’s personality, he probably paid several months in advance to ensure he had enough time if something bad happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even if those payments ran out, I suppose the Axis would take care of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what would happen to a brother who couldn’t check on his sick sister for months?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course doubt would gnaw at his mind and disrupt his thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for me, it didn’t really matter when I returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For me, there wasn’t a single thing worth caring about back there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, except for the trash of the Void system waiting to be slaughtered, but that would still take a few more years before I could do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed, and we finally reached our destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before us rose a massive rift dozens of meters wide, splitting the entire wall like a gate to another world.\u003C\u002Fp>",1550,"2026-06-02T09:38:17.164Z",1,"novelbin.me","381a756bbf50d79056eca837e9adafac7ba3ca82c6f23395fcbb2aa73b0c4fba","reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-chapter-117","reincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-chapter-71",183,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Freincarnated-as-the-final-villain-s-vessel-cover.jpg"]