Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 183
[What a foolish act.]
The false goddess, Camille, whispered.
[The people of the world will resent you. Do you think they will praise you if you sacrifice yourself to seal me?]
Praise? Irene wasn’t doing this to be praised. No matter how noble her intentions were, she knew that she would be resented for the changes her actions would bring to the world. Camille knew this too and relentlessly preyed on that thought.
[You were hated from the moment you were born, and even after death, you’ll still be hated.]
The vile words flowed from a sweet, gentle voice, but Irene didn’t waver. Or rather, she couldn’t afford to waver. There were people sacrificing their lives for her right now, and she had to endure for their sake.
[This isn’t the future you wanted.]
Camille’s dark energy began to seep into Irene, clouding her mind. For a moment, it felt as if she was losing consciousness. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she fought to open them. She had been standing in harsh, stormy terrain, but now, the scenery had changed.
All around her, strange pink plants filled the landscape, and the sun shone in the sky. The weather was a bit cool, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was like a scene from a painted picture.
Was this some sort of trick by the false goddess? She stayed on guard, but suddenly something bumped into her from behind. It seemed to have run into her with some force, but it was so small that even her weakened body could withstand it.
A small being that had run into her looked up. It was a delicate-looking boy with silver hair and red eyes.
The boy smiled and called out to Irene.
“Mom!”
Mom? He must be mistaken about something.
‘Wait… is this even a child?’
Before Irene could push the child away, suspecting another trap by Camille, the boy’s plump, light-pink lips opened.
“Mom, Dad keeps being mean!”
The way the child whined was so endearing that Irene couldn’t bring herself to push him away.
“Dad? Who’s that?” Irene asked calmly.
“There! Over there!”
The boy pointed toward a man standing in the distance.
The man’s face was obscured by the light behind him, so Irene squinted to get a better look.
He laughed out loud, looking at the child, and then began walking toward them.
“Are you complaining to your mom again?”
“No! It’s not complaining! You were being mean first, Dad!”
“That wasn’t mean. When I was your age, I could do that easily.”
Their conversation was heartwarming. Though the boy stomped his feet, claiming his dad was being mean, the man’s gaze was filled with affection.
The man picked up the boy, who puffed out his cheeks but still allowed himself to be held.
“Burt?”
Irene called the man’s name.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?”
The man, Burt, gently touched Irene’s cheek with his free hand.
‘This is just an illusion,’ Irene thought, trying to pinch her cheek to wake herself. But before she could, Burt grabbed her hand, taking away her freedom of movement.
‘It’s definitely an illusion…’
Yet it felt unnervingly real.
“Irene?”
Burt was using a casual tone when he addressed her.
“Why?”
Irene took a deep breath.
“Why are you calling me like that?”
“What do you mean, why?”
Burt tilted his head.
“You’ve always… had like, a respectful tone when speaking to me.”
She replied, her confusion evident.
At that, Burt’s eyes softened into a gentle smile.
“That was years ago. Do you want that again?”
“Years ago?”
“Did you forget? After we got married, we agreed to just use names. Being casual and everything. You must be feeling unwell, talking strange like this.”
“Mom, are you sick?”
The boy, with a worried expression, looked up at Irene.
“Am I… really your mom?”
Her chest, her heart, was pounding harder than usual. Though she knew this couldn’t be real, she couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“No, no. I mean, what I want to say is…”
This wasn’t the question she meant to ask. She should’ve asked something else, but why had this slipped out?
‘Is this all an illusion? Are you my enemy? Is this a false vision created by the fake goddess?’
As she was about to speak again, the boy, looking troubled, responded.
“Mom is Mom. Why are you asking like that?”
