Chapter 979: Conversation with the Strongest Clone

"Lamb smoked in oakwood for exactly 8 hours, reversed seared with beef tallow, and a broiled bone marrow on the side."

"...What?"

"This is your favorite if I recall. Please...

...eat."

The smell coming from the smoked lamb was enough to cause Silvie's mind to almost shut down there and then. If the food wasn't being offered by Riley, then she would have probably already wolfed down everything, including the plate.

"This..." Silvie took in a large gulp as she tried her best to remove her eyes from the plate, "...I'm not hungry!"

"Is that so?" Riley placed his hand on his chin before just letting out a sigh as sitting at the table, "That is a shame, then. Very well, let's just discuss whatever it is you wanted to discuss; you seem to be rushing since you even broke my window for it."

"...Here?" Silvie could not help but just take another gulp as she looked at the smoked lamb, "Why... why don't we talk there?"

"Hm?" Riley turned to look at the bar as Silvie pointed to it. But after a few seconds, he just shook his head and beckoned to Silvie to just take a seat, "It is alright, a lot of serious discussions have already been had at this table, it seems to have that effect on people — but if you want to drink something, then I would be happy to pour a glass for—"

"Happy...?" Silvie's eye started to twitch as she heard Riley's words. She stared at his somewhat clueless face for a few seconds before just taking a seat and crossing her arms, "Since when did you learn something like that?"

"Since I was born, Silve," Riley shrugged, "There are just moments that make me happier to the point that I actually show them."

"Tch..." Silvie clicked her tongue and shook her head before she pointed right at Riley's face, "You... I hate you."

"It would be more surprising if you did not, Silvie. But..." Riley then stared at Silvie's hand, and then toward her other arm as he noticed something amiss with them. There was nothing wrong with them visually, but Riley could feel their temperature to be completely different from the rest of her body — her arms were cold... lifeless even when moving,

"...Did you lose your arms?"

"Wh—" Silvie quickly retracted her hand and subtly hid both of them under the table, "How—I'm not even going to ask you how you know that, I forgot who you are. Riley Ross, always scheming something underneath all that stoic facade."

"Hm..." Riley did not really say anything and just stared at Silvie, who just looked away in response and no longer said anything. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before Silvie just grabbed the knife and fork and started eating the food that Riley prepared for her.

"!!!" There was a jolt that shocked every inch of Silvie's body as soon as she took the first bite; her teeth, almost locking completely as the lamb just melted inside her mouth. The taste was... enough to instinctively make her close her eyes even though Riley was only a meter away from her.

Of course, she quickly opened her eyes and once again put up her guard as she looked at Riley. But as she saw him just quietly sitting there, she just let out a small scoff and started eating again — and once again, she felt the taste just violate her mouth with all that was good.

And while she enjoyed his food, Riley was just watching her; the way she moved her fingers, the way the air escaped and entered her body, the way her face twitched. And as he saw all of this, the only thing that he could really do was...

...sigh.

"600 years..." Riley then whispered as he looked at Silvie's face, "...The world seems to have been very unkind to you, Silvie."

"Shut up," Silvie once again clicked her tongue before continuing to devour the smoked lamb. She then started shaving the marrow from the grilled and smoked bone that was on the side, slathering it with the tallow and juice of the lamb before proceeding to just suck it.

And once again, Silvie could not help but close her eyes as she felt the taste not only wrap around her tongue, but her entire body; almost as if it was trying to comfort her.

And soon, as the feeling overwhelmed her, she let go of her knife and fork to cover her face...

...and then all of a sudden, her tears just started seeping out from between her fingers as her desperate cry echoed throughout the quiet and somber restaurant.

She cried, almost like a child bawling; clumsily wiping her face and snot, not caring about anything at all. It was...

...a cry that lasted for an entire hour, representing hundreds of years of pain and hardship.

***

"...After you were gone, the world — the multiverse became peaceful for a few weeks."

Silvie was now done crying her heart out, and even her plate was now completely cleared out; the tone of her voice, now completely different from how it was just moments ago. It is true what they say, people are not themselves when they are deprived and hungry.

Still, there was an obvious loneliness lingering in Silvie's tone; perhaps even more prevalent now that she slightly lowered her guard against Riley as she started telling him about what happened after he was gone.

"And without any threats looming around the multiverse, I... decided to dive into other multiverses to try and save my variants," Silvie breathed out as she held the cup of hot chocolate offered to her by Riley,

"My variants, you see... aren't as lucky as me. You remember... Aerith? Not Megawoman, but the clone you discovered all those years ago back in the old world."

"Yes. The imperfect Silvies," Riley nodded, "They were created and developed by the Reuben family, Silvie."

"Hm..." Silvie let out a short but very deep sigh as she sighed, "...It turns out that most of my variants are just... monsters. The only reason why I am what I am is...

...because of you, Riley."

"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side as Silvie looked at him.

"In the other universe, the Reuben family did not meet a... tragic fate since you did not exist in any other universe," Silvie then stared at the cup she was holding; the chocolate, creating ripples as her hands trembled, "The only reason I exist...

...is that Julius, the Alistair of our world, was determined to seek revenge against you — he poured all of his time and resources to make me possible."

"I suppose that would be the case," Riley let out a small hum as he placed his hand on his chin.

"So... my quest to find and rescue my variants..." Silvie started to stutter as her breaths once again became unstable; panicking to the point that she had to drink her hot choco to mask the emotions pouring out from her face,

"My quest to find and rescue my variants... turned into a quest to euthanize—no. To murder them."

"Hm... Okay."

"Okay...?" Silvie's eye twitched as she quickly turned to look at Riley. But after a few seconds of staring at him, she just let out a small but very deep sigh, "...I forgot who I was talking to."

"And you mentioned Aerith the Clone?" Riley asked.

"Yes..." Silvie once again looked away, "...Aerith the Clone is almost a perfect variant like me—wait, no. I'm not saying I'm perfect, I'm saying I'm... complete."

"You are."

"Most of the Aerith clones are... evil," Silvie then said, "There is something about them that's just not... right. But all of them... all of them protect the other imperfect clones."

"And so you murdered them all."

"Yes," Silvie closed her eyes as tears once again fell from her eyes, "I... didn't even think of another solution. In their eyes—no. In everyone's eyes, even mine...

...I'm the evil one."

"Hm..." Riley still had his hand placed on his chin.

"And then the gods suddenly started appearing and the war happened," Silvie opened her eyes as she rested her back on the chair while looking at the ceiling, "Your sister, the others, we all got separated and had to choose our sides."

"Which side did you choose then, Silvie?"

"None," Silvie breathed out, "I continued to just search and hunt for my variants, to spare them from being used in the war. I killed, and I killed, and I killed them all...

...and then I came to know that there was a god who was capable of healing and fixing every wound, sickness, imperfection... anything. And so, my quest once again became what it originally was; find my variants, then have them healed by the god. And he did... he did heal them — I saved hundreds of them under the radar of the war. But then...

...my variants came to know that I'd killed others of our variants, and they decided that I was dangerous and decided to kill me for their safety...

...so I killed them all too. And then I realized...

...I've become you, Riley. I've truly become evil."