"Become... a king...?"

In her hazy consciousness, Yun You only noticed this word.

Or rather, she was only interested in this phrase.

"That's right!"

The figure with the same voice as hers laughed wildly and affirmed without hesitation: "It's precisely becoming a king!"

"Become a king, and you can fulfill all your wishes."

"Become a king, you can do everything you want, ignore the constraints of the mundane, and trample unfair rules underfoot."

"Become a king, all treasures, wealth, status, and power in the world will be yours for the taking."

"I know these things don't tempt you much, but trust me, the status of a king will satisfy all your desires and greed."

"Become a true king! Let the world know your power. This is the path you will inevitably take!"

Undeniably, in this moment of despair, the voice's appearance indeed gave Yun You a glimmer of hope.

She didn't care about so-called wealth or status, nor did she mind the gaze of others. But she indeed had unfinished business to complete.

No matter what, Yun You couldn't stop here, absolutely not.

She instinctively wanted to agree, but just as the words were about to leave her mouth, she suddenly realized a problem.

So, after a moment of silence, the girl opened her mouth to retort: "I know, there's no such thing as a free lunch, nor will pies fall from the sky out of thin air."

"Since the power of being a king can give me everything, then..."

"What do I need to pay? What kind of price do I have to bear?"

The law of equivalent exchange, a constant law of the world.

If one desires power, one must inevitably pay a price, and the ratio between this gain and payment is often proportional.

If the identity of a king can bring her the possibility of revenge, then what price will she have to pay?

This price, Yun You was determined to figure out.

"Hehehehe..."

The voice sneered and countered: "Didn't you already guess it?"

"What you need to pay is everything you have."

"Everything."

"Your body, your thoughts, your soul, your dreams."

"Everything you have must obey my will."

"This is the price of becoming a king."

"It sounds serious, doesn't it? After all, to completely abandon your own view and become a subsidiary of someone else... It feels uncomfortable however you hear it."

"But I'll be honest with you, girl."

"Don't worry about it."

The voice paused, then continued laughing.

Its laughter had never stopped since the beginning.

It was a kind of reckless laugh, an emotion extremely self-centered, disregarding others...

Yun You's gaze halted...

She seemed to have guessed the identity of this figure.

And the next words of the voice confirmed her guess.

"I'm not some monster residing in your body, nor any peculiar soul, nor anything malicious."

"I am you yourself!"

"To be exact, I am your desire, the side that does not wish to be controlled, hoping to freely express all thoughts and desires."

"I am your most selfish nature, also the instinct you were born with..."

"And the path to becoming a king is to abandon those responsibilities imposed upon you by outsiders, discard everything that makes you dissatisfied and unhappy, adhere to the instincts of being human... to vent, to roar, to indulge."

"Encounter anything unpleasant, destroy it; see anyone who annoys you, get rid of them!"

"A king does not need to endure, a king scorns all sorrows. A king is needed by this world, a king is only self-centered!"

"A king will never make mistakes, because everything a king does is correct."

"In the eyes of the weak and the irrelevant, this might be called 'selfishness.' But a king doesn't care, and only those extremely selfish individuals, those who only consider themselves, can become a king!"

At this point, the voice paused slightly, as if inspecting Yun You with critical eyes.

"You have the qualities to become a king, and as your instinct and desire, I know this best."

"But the question is, girl, can you really bear the costs I mentioned? Can you make up your mind to become a king?"

"..."

Yun You was silent.

Undeniably, the voice's words greatly exceeded her expectations.

Since childhood, Yun You had been influenced by her parents to be kind and, without harming herself, to care for others' emotions and interests as much as possible.

This was also the baseline of Yun You's character.

Even in the face of upheaval and betrayal, even when the harsh realities of Nest City made her abandon her fantasies early and become an "ordinary person" struggling for her own interests, she still maintained her bottom line.

Not to commit wanton murder.

Live well, and when able, try to help innocent people.

Loyal enough to companions, not to betray or deceive.

Yun You always thought this was her essence. Sometimes she even felt proud of this, after all, she became what her parents hoped she would be.

But now, that voice... her desire, told her that her true nature, the essence of Yun You, was a cruel, selfish, extremely self-centered person, someone qualified to become a king.

What a joke...

Was Yun You really such a devil, selfish enough to disregard everything... just to satisfy her own desires?

Then what was her previous character? A disguise to meet her parents' expectations? A hypocritical mask?

"I know, it might be hard for you to accept this right now."

"But that's normal."

The voice continued: "Humans are hypocritical, hoping to become those recognized, respected, and admired by the masses in universal values, which is not wrong."

"It's just that a king precisely doesn't need these vain titles, there's no need nor interest in enjoying others' esteem."

"A king only needs to satisfy themselves, so the first step to achieving kinghood is to discard those old notions, to acknowledge desire, and to recognize oneself."

Yun You remained silent.

After a while, she slowly spoke: "Forget it..."

"No matter those miscellaneous trivialities."

"I don't have such strong material desires, nor am I interested in doing whatever I please."

"I only want to complete my revenge, and to achieve this, I don't care about anything else. Since becoming a king can fulfill this wish, I won't refuse."

"I, Yun You, will become a king as you said."

"And I will never regret it."

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