Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"You know life was hard in the company without you, but I held on and ploughed through. The project that you left unfinished, I completed it for you. It was a huge success, it was your success".

"Although I still regret not being able to punish the perpetrators, all of them did not have a good ending. Right, do you remember the words you told me when I faced my first failure after joining the company?"

"You told me to 'Never give up on your dreams, Sometimes in life, we can only triumph after facing adversity, the obstacle we face is only there to teach us a lesson. Some people are able to understand it and simple people collapse under, but life is something meant to be experienced".

"So newbie, find a reason to get back up. At that time you looked really cool, so much so that my heart even skipped a beat".

"Ehh?! W-what are you saying"

Emilia had a faint flush over her cheeks, she didn't know what Simon was saying, but she could feel the multitudes of emotions from his words. He looked so determined that she felt like she didn't have it in herself to stop him at this moment.

Simon continued to speak to her, it was a one sided conversation with her adding in only a couple of times; nevertheless, it helped to slowly clear the gloomy and desolate aura around her and before he knew it she was back to her usual bright self.

"Hey Simon, thanks for cheering me on. I didn't know my junior was such a reliable and wise man. Ah! The room is so dark let me switch the lights on. Right, I'm going to make tea, have some with me"

She got up from her seat and started busying herself with her task. Simon simply sat there and watched her as if wanting to carve that figure into his memories.

He felt a sense of peace, this was what he wanted, this was what he yearned for. Perhaps it was not a bad idea to just live here?

Yeah, he should just live in this reality.

Just as Simon was about to accept the reality playing out in front of him, the vision of a little girl with emerald hair who made a promise to her big brother came into his mind waking him up.

That little girl was waiting for her big brother to come back.

The vision was like a cold bucket of water, waking his mind and making everything clear to him.

"You like your tea with milk right? Come to think of it, your little sister visited the office the other day while you were admitted to the hospital. I told her that you were away on a business trip because I did not want her to worry. Should I have told her?"

"Hey Simon, are you listening?" her words continuously sounded out from the kitchen adjacent to this room.

"Yeah"

Simon replied, two droplets of tears trickled down his cheeks.

After a while he closed his eyes and spoke—"I know you are there. That's enough, you can stop it now".

It was unknown who he was speaking to, but at that instant, the reality in front of him as if it was some kind of distant dream got covered up in a layer of haze and drifted off.

What greeted him next was a white space that extended as far as the eyes could see. How many times had he visited this place? This wasn't Simon's first time coming here.

As he observed the place, he was shocked speechless the next second when he was what was in front of him.

Standing not very far away with his arm crossed and arrogant eyes, was another him. Yes, the two of them basically had the same appearance. But unlike him who currently had the human apperance, the one in front of him was the demon Simon that lived in Althaea.

There was also some other noticeable differences between them like their auras and atmosphere. The demon Simon gave off an overbearing aura, his face was cold as if he hadn't smiled for hundreds of years.

His slightly raised brows carried inexplicable pride and arrogance. His sharp pupils which seemed like they could pierce one's soul, sometimes displayed a tinge of sadness and exhaustion. But it was quickly masked with a demon like ferocity and ruthlessness.

Simon did not know why but he felt like those eyes and those slightly arching brows had seen through a lot in their life, there was unique gravity about them. But more importantly, what set the two Simons apart were their auras.

The demon Simon emanated tremendous charisma even while just standing there silently. His presence was so strong that simply by doing nothing, he would ensnare all the attention. More importantly, he had this air about him as if he was a veteran of the battlefield who had gone through tens of thousands of battles in his life,

"Was that alright? You could have at least stayed there for tea or forever. Wasn't that what you wanted? A life with her" the demon finally spoke as he casually trudged forward.

Simon had no doubt about it in his mind, the reality that he was just shown, was because of this person. It was also because of him that he was having this feeling of incongruity ever since the beginning of the dream.

"Yeah, that's alright… It is just a wishful dream of mine that would never come true after all. Anyways, would it be weird to ask who are you?" Simon questioned.

The demon that was him, laughed at his question. The way he had his hands in his pockets and his mannerless speaking, he looked like a local delinquent.

"It is a weird question but I believe you know the answer. I am you, you are me. We are the same". the demon Simon pointed at him and then at himself.

Simon nodded his head, he had already thought as such.

"I see… then why are there two of me? Why did you show me that dream? What are your motives?".

"Woah.. woah.. So many questions at once. I know you are confused but you don't have to bombard me with so many questions buddy" the demon Simon joked.

"Hmph, you say you are me but how can I believe you? You just tried to deceive me into falling into that reality. And more importantly, I don't joke like that" Simon spoke with a face full of seriousness.

"Hmm.. is that so? Well, there can be some discrepancies between two personalities from two different timelines. That being said, it is the truth we are the same. Just like the two sides of a coin, you are the human side and I'm the demon side of the being named Simon. Do you understand it now?"…

"I don't!! What's with that esoteric way of talking? How am I supposed to understand that?" the demon's words only served to confuse Simon.

"Hmm… then there is no other way. To get through your thick skull, this is the only way"

The demon spoke flashing a wicked smile. It raised its hand and swung it towards its own face.

BANG… the punch landed knocking the demon down.

Simon who was wondering what the demon was up to, simultaneously felt a pain coming from the left side of his cheeks and got knocked by it. Surprised evident in his eyes he looked at the demon with wide open eyes.

"Do you understand now when I say we are the same?"…

There was no mistaking it, the demon punched himself yet why did even he feel the pain? With that example, Simon had no choice but to accept the words of the demon for the time being that is.

He nodded his head.

"Good, now answering your second question, I did not show you that dream?"…

"What do you mean?" Simon asked.

There are only the two of them here, who else could show him the dream than the demon?

"I understand your concerns about that dream but it was not I that showed you that rather it was a trail from someone" the demon answered.

"By showing me that dream you have dug up all the memories, regrets and emotions that I had suppressed deep within my heart. It's all your fault that my head is in such a chaos. And you tell me that it was a trail? Who would do something like that?" Simon bellowed, his voice angry.

"Now... now, don't be so mad. It was a trail from the Fragment of Pride, it was assessing you with that dream. Besides, weren't you happy seeing her again? I can tell that a weight in your heart had disappeared. The whole experience wasn't a bad thing, wouldn't you say?"…

It was true that he was happy to see her again, taking to her did indeed lift some weight from his heart. Nevertheless, the dream also showed him an aspect of his previous life that he could never redo again.

It was a complex feeling, after experiencing that dream he felt both happy and sad at the same time.

"What do you mean it was trial from the Fragment of Pride? Was it assessing to see if I was worthy of it or not? In the first place, I have been meaning to ask, why did the fragment choose me? I am neither a prideful individual nor a super powerful being so why?" Simon questioned.

"You ask some truly difficult questions don't you?"