When she awoke, she saw the white ceiling. The scent of disinfectant filled the air, accompanied by the monotonous ticking of machines.

Luo Xian raised her eyes in confusion and heard hurried footsteps outside the door. Startled, the doctors rushed in to give her a comprehensive examination. They left no stone unturned. Then, to their confusion, they found that her previously exhausted Soul seemed to have been reborn from its cocoon. However, it wasn't flawed or improved as they had imagined.

There was no change whatsoever—not more, not less.

They couldn't find a reason for this condition, nor could they dissect or study it further. Despite the prohibition, some were eager to try. However, a single glance from the old man—who was merely leaning against the wall, watching—made them obediently abandon their bold idea. In the end, they could only leave regretfully, concluding that everything was normal. This left only the father and daughter in the ward.

Luo Lao exhaled, closed the door, and finally turned to his awakened daughter. He scrutinized her for a long, long time, then shook his head, puzzled.

"It feels like… there's no change at all."

"Yeah, it seems to be pretty much the same as before."

Luo Xian looked down at her hands, seemingly indifferent to everything that had happened to her. It was just incomprehensible.

The traits of the Abyss still lingered in her, but the human part of her showed no signs of decline. She hadn't been reborn as a human, but she hadn't died as a monster either. Both sides mingled again in an unpleasant way. But this time, there were none of the past benefits; she had lost the advantages of both, yet retained all their defects.

Without the Abyss's violence and cruelty, but endowed with human weakness and limitations...

Was this a success or a failure?

No matter how much she rejected her past self, no matter the effort and determination she poured into it, at best, she had merely switched their positions on the scale. She hadn't plunged into the Abyss, nor had she returned to the human side. Instead, she hovered indecisively in the middle.

Her appearance was completely different from before, but her essence remained unchanged—a state that inspired a profound sense of helplessness and despair.

"It's quite ironic, Xiao Xian." The old man shook his head, his gaze piercing through the futility of her efforts. "This is your essence," he said. "Immutable. Even if bestowed with kindness..."

He pronounced his ruthless verdict without a hint of warmth, already well aware of how this farce would end.

In this world, some things cannot be changed merely by effort. Even the so-called intentions and bonds are just as powerless; the material world never yields to Source Substance. And when you attempt to interfere using Source Substance, you must often prepare for things to become far worse. The more you desire, the more the world seems to offer. Yet, what you receive may not be what you originally sought. Ultimately, you gain nothing but emptiness and disillusionment.

Hell was created this way—any kind of 'Hell,' literally speaking.

"Have you gained anything, Xiao Xian?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Luo Xian tilted her head, thought for a moment, then laughed self-mockingly. "I seem to have lost even more… It feels like the losses far outweigh the gains."

She had been deprived of her extreme ferocity and the Predator's nature, and in return, granted a feeble kindness. Yet, the hunger and void within her remained unfulfilled; she remained incomplete.

The old man nodded, unconcerned. He then bent over, squeezing his overly muscular frame into the tiny sofa and crossing his legs. "Then, have you come to any realization?"

"If I had to say… not really, no?" Luo Xian shook her head and sighed in regret. "I was granted kindness, yet the desire to kill something has become even stronger. Is this what you meant by 'growing worse,' Father? After experiencing what love is, not only am I unsatisfied, but I crave that 'something' even more..."

To achieve happiness through death, to gain love through killing. No matter what, it was impossible to mask this inherent defect.

A brief moment of gratification had caused the monster within to retreat temporarily, but her desire for what she had once possessed now burned a thousand times stronger, growing ever more maniacal.

"Don't worry. Isn't your father still here?" Luo Lao slowly stood up and extended his hand towards her. "Let's go. We're going home."

Luo Xian thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, Father," she said seriously. "I already have someone I want to kill."

"…Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes." Luo Xian began to laugh. Only then did a hint of rosiness touch her pale cheeks, her dark eyes brimming with joy, anticipation, and affection.

"What kind of person are they?" the old man asked, scratching his head in confusion. "Can you introduce them to your father?"

"Haven't you already met them, Father?" Luo Xian thought back, recalling past memories. "Unlike you, Father, who can remain so calm and indifferent to the things I do. He's not like those creatures from the Abyss who praise my actions, nor like other people who shrink away from my cooking and me... After seeing my cooking, he actually wanted to try it."

Recalling that moment, she couldn't help but smile. "Even though he only took one bite before spitting it out, and cried so pathetically, he really didn't die, did he?"

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