The Dark Rebirth of Pandora: Revenge of the Abyss

Chapter 552: Two Opposite Lives

’So this is the room I’m supposed to stay in from now on?’ I look down—the door is small, barely three meters, probably because Azraelith isn’t even close to being as big as me and Mother.

Though I doubt Azraelith can’t go giant, she probably just prefers a smaller form.

’Hmmm... I didn’t want to have to leave my true form... but fine.’ I’ve gotten used to staying in this form anyway; it’s great, but it’s not like I’m in any danger inside the castle.

So I slip out of my true form, my body slowly shrinking down to two meters tall—but I don’t want to be that tall either, so I reduce my size to a hundred seventy-seven centimeters, which is two centimeters shorter than Azraelith.

Being shorter than her gives me this nice feeling of her being a bigger, stronger older sister.

"Now then..." I open the bedroom door to step inside, only to see that a lot of things are broken. I sense danger instantly, but instead of defending or dodging, I use the fundamentals of creation.

I move my hands, my legs, and channel Mana to alter the flow of the universe like a dance. The air distorts, gravity fractures, reality shifts its position relative to the rest of the world—stopping the fist mid-air without touching it directly, like an invisible wall, while I spin the entire universe within a five-meter radius.

It’s as if the universe in the area I’m standing in is inside a snow globe—and now I’ve turned that snow globe upside down. Then, using my tail, I slam the person who attacked me into the floor.

"...Haaa..." I look at my hands. The attack was so strong that even though I never touched it directly, my hands are trembling. It was too powerful to block head-on, so I redirected it, using the universe like the current of a river.

"You know, attacking your little sister like that is pretty annoying, right?" I say to Azraelith as she pulls herself out of the floor. Despite the attack I just took, my tail wags excitedly at what I managed to do.

"Don’t enter my room without knocking," she says, her glare sharp with irritation.

"It’s my room now too. Mother said we’re sharing it," I say cheerfully as I step inside. Her room is really plain—almost nothing in here besides a bed, two desks, one chair, and a few small things.

"..." I hear her teeth grind together when I say we’re sharing this room.

"Fine..." She walks over to the bed and throws herself onto it like she’s marking territory.

"How did you block my strike?" she asks, curious despite herself.

"I used the universe to defend. It’s basically a counterstrike—but it wouldn’t have worked if you’d actually tried to kill me. You’re way too strong," I say, moving to sit in the chair. But she uses magic to yank it away.

"..."

"It’s mine."

"...Okay then."

"That’s mine too." She cuts me off again, and I realize she’s not going to let me use anything. It makes me smile—not because it’s nice, but because this is exactly what having a real sibling feels like.

"I’ll just make my own furniture..."

"Put on clothes. Seeing you naked in my room is weird." She rolls her eyes as I glance down at myself.

"Yeah, not really in the mood." The moment I say it, she lets out this frustrated, angry sound, while I use magic to create a large, elegant bed for myself next to hers. I also craft a few pieces of furniture—with the immense amount of magic I have now, the items aren’t destroyed by the abyss’s magical density.

And of course, I make clothes to wear. Eventually I’ll have to wear them, but inside my room, why would I bother with clothes? I’ve been naked for so long I’ve gotten used to it. Besides, clothes are an invention of mortals to hide their bodies. I’m not a mortal! I’m a goddess. I see absolutely no need to conceal myself.

Not to mention almost every monster in the abyss is naked! Why shouldn’t I be too? I’ll wear clothes outside the room out of respect for Mother, since she wears them too—but inside my room, I’m staying bare.

’Actually... making armor-like clothing might be a good idea.’ I’d need a really powerful material to craft durable clothes—only then would wearing them actually make sense.

"Ahhh, it feels amazing to lie in a bed that’s actually mine after so long." I throw myself onto my bed dramatically, staring at the ceiling. If I’m going to make clothes, the focus should be defense, not aesthetics.

’Oh, wait—Mother’s clothes are pretty revealing... but the design... protects everything important. Does she wear clothes just as armor too?’ I grow curious about that as Azraelith gets up from where she was and walks over to me.

"Are you provoking me on purpose?! Put on some clothes."

"I don’t feel like it, big sis. If it bothers you that much, you can get naked too. Why hide the beauty I have? Besides, you’re a cutie yourself—I’d love to see you naked." I taunt her as she clenches her fist.

"You’re acting like a whore."

"..."

"Wrong. I’m acting like what I am. Why should I wear clothes like I’m some mere human or whatever?" I snap back at her for trying to force clothes on me. Honestly, I abandoned that side of myself long ago.

Not wearing clothes isn’t just depravity—it’s comfort. For a monster, being naked is natural, and my body feels good this way. Plus, any sense of shame I had is practically dead.

"You little brat." She grabs my leg and yanks me. I smack my head on the floor, my tail whipping against her hand as she pulls me. She snaps her fingers, and clothes materialize on me.

"Then why the hell did you drag me out of my bed if you could’ve just given me clothes from the start!?" I get up, irritated.

"I don’t wanna wear this crap!" I say, frustrated. Wearing clothes feels wrong—the fabric against my skin is uncomfortable.

"Stop acting like a goddamn child throwing a tantrum!!" She raises her voice, like shouting at me will make me back down.

"What’s the matter, huh? Why are you so scared of seeing me naked? Are you dying of lust seeing your little sister bare? Well, you’re gonna see a lot more of it—especially when I’m milking myself." I taunt her with a wicked grin.

"I’m going to break your face!"

"Oh, come at me then, you bitch!" She lunges at me, and we start fighting, rolling around on the floor. I grab her hands, she grabs mine, our tails intertwining to restrain each other.

"I’ll—" Azraelith started to say something, but the door swings open and there she is—our mother. She’s shrunk down to fit through the three-meter door, and her gaze is ice-cold.

’Oh shit...’

"Mom, this isn’t what it looks like!" I say quickly.

"I hear all that yelling from upstairs. Speak more quietly or use magic to block the sound. It’s annoying. Don’t disturb the castle’s silence." She closes the door, and we hear her footsteps fading. That reminds me—Delphina also had that strange obsession with silence, to the point of killing maids for the sound of their footsteps.

"Tch. See what you did?... You made Mother come all the way here to scold us..." She bites her lip like she’s about to cry, and it’s so cute.

"...Hahaha, it’s hilarious seeing you like this—ouch!" She punches me in the nose as she gets off me. She’s way more subservient to Mother than I expected, and she seems seriously stressed.

"Mom said something bad to you, didn’t she?" Her anger feels way too irrational—unless she heard something I didn’t. When I say that, she freezes mid-step, and I know I’m right.

"...None of your business..."

’What could it be...’ I see billions of possibilities for what could’ve made her like this. I eliminate the ones that couldn’t happen, and settle on the most rational, logical conclusion.

"Breeding sow." When I say it, she slowly turns her head toward me. For a moment, she looks like she doesn’t understand—until she sees the massive grin on my face.

"What... did you say?" Her voice is heavy with hatred.

"That you’re a breeding sow. I bet Mother told you your only function now is to give me a child—or have mine." I know this. Not because I heard Mother say it, but because I understand her mindset pretty well.

Her mentality is absurdly utilitarian. Her love comes with blatant favoritism toward whichever child gives her the most ’profit’—in this case, me. The ’perfect’ version she always wanted. Her immense love for me... yes, it’s maternal love. But it exists only because I’m the success she always craved.

But our mother is evil. I know she’s very evil. And what does an evil person think when someone is no longer that useful? Simple—squeeze every last drop of use out of them.

Because I’m the same way. I also use people as much as possible, and when they lose their function, I don’t abandon them—I just find another useful role for them.

And considering that my sister and I are the only pure-blooded Tenebris Abyssus, while my daughters are all hybrids... obviously Mother is going to want more ’successes’ through my heirs.

"Urgh!!" She appears in front of me, grabbing my throat and choking me. Her magic is leaking wildly, soaking the room in this heavy aura. She seems to be in a lot of emotional pain.

"Hahahahahahaha!" I laugh like a maniac for hitting the wound dead-on. Looks like I was right about her role—and honestly, even as I laugh, I feel sad for her.

Truly sad. That my older sister has been reduced to such a degrading function. I understand her. Because I spent so much time in the abyss serving merely as a broodmare for other monsters.

By cruel irony, I understand her pain more than anyone else ever could.

"You fucking bitch!" She hurls me into the wall, then goes to her bed, lying down and covering herself completely with the blanket.

’Now I get why she didn’t want to see me naked...’ I don’t feel bad for her. I understand her, and I feel sorrow watching my sister suffer—but I don’t actually feel like I have to do something to change it.

She didn’t want me naked simply because seeing me bare reminds her that her only remaining function is to bear an heir. It’s really pitiful... she’s nothing without our mother. She and I are opposites in that regard.

She built her entire life around being useful to Mother. I built my entire life around living as I pleased and achieving my own goals. If Mother told Azraelith her usefulness was over, her life would end.

But if Mother told me my usefulness was over? I’d simply live the life I’ve already built for myself. A brutal, glaring difference between us.

"The sooner you accept your role, the better—but I won’t give you my children so easily," I say to her, jumping back onto my bed. I glance at the clothes she made for me, and out of respect for her strength, I decide to wear them today.

’Maybe I can help her... if she realizes that just living with me could be comforting enough...’

"..." She doesn’t answer, and we stay in this uncomfortable silence. Eventually, her voice breaks it.

"I’ll do what I have to do... but I hate you. You ruined everything for me."

"...That’s fine. But know that I adore you, big sister. I hope you’ll adore me as much as I adore you someday. So I’ll be looking forward to what you do with me." I say it lightly.

Because I really do like her. Even though I provoked her maliciously. In the end, that’s just how siblings are—they provoke each other, they hurt each other. But at the end of the day, most of the time, things work out.