Limitless Evolution With My Character Merge System

Chapter 5: Overcoming

The sun shone brightly over Megan City with warm rays reaching every corner as people bustled through their daily routines.

Megan City in the northern region of Starlight Nation was a tier-3 city with a population of just over fifty thousand.

Across the nation, cities were divided into three categories: tier-1, tier-2, and tier-3.

Tier-1 cities were large, rich in resources, and heavily protected, while tier-3 cities like Megan were smaller and far less secure in comparison.

Towering skyscrapers, flying vehicles, massive corporations, and advanced factories were common sights in tier-1 cities.

These cities were far more technologically advanced, but their high cost of living made them difficult for ordinary people to afford.

This forced many people to settle in tier-2 or tier-3 cities where life was more affordable, though less glamorous and secure.

Although Megan City was not extremely dangerous, it was far from safe.

Its biggest threat came from dungeons, a strange gate that brings out deadly monsters capable of wreaking destruction around the place.

People living in such dangerous environments remained constantly alert. Even children grew up learning the harsh principles of survival.

Meanwhile, tier-2 and especially tier-1 cities had strong defenses and powerful guilds that were always ready to take care of any arising problem.

Within an alleyway, a figure lay motionless on the ground.

No doubt, anyone who looked at it would think it was just a lifeless body.

But if one came closer and looked carefully, they could see the chest rising and falling with each breath, indicating the figure was still alive.

People passing by shook their heads at the scene, making jokes and hurling insults at the person.

This figure was none other than Alden.

To everyone who saw him lying there, they thought he had passed out from getting too drunk, unaware that he was actually in danger.

Inside the strange, dreamlike world he had been dragged into by the heart demon, Alden could be seen trembling on the cold, hard ground, broken and in deep pain, his eyes completely red and veined. His fists were tightly clenched.

There was no one who could understand the feelings Alden was going through.

Sorrow, agony, hatred, struggle—his heart was completely taken over by these feelings.

He, Alden was unwilling to be affected by the words of an ordinary entity, but his heart was somehow aiding to the voices, accepting them all.

The bitterness Alden was undergoing was unbearable as the painful scenes he had experienced in his original life unfolded.

Those ugly experiences from his past life, which were his only weakness, weighed him down no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.

Somehow, they were still effective on him.

"Sammy or should I call you Alden?" The corners of the heart demon's lips curled into a wicked smile.

"Heh heh. Despite your huge success, your family still didn't accepted you back as you predicted," the demon paused, looking down on its prey with a crazy laugh on its face.

Then it continued, slowly saying each word to make it sink deeper.

"Do you know why? Because your junior brother is still better and even his achievements have yet to be matched by you."

Each and every word spoken was filled with coldness.

Alden, on the other hand, was trying his best to clear his head of these bitter words. His heart couldn't help but agree with what the demon said.

He was still seen by his family as a failure even after all his accomplishments. Compared to his younger brother, who had become the youngest CEO of numerous companies, what was he with his meager wealth?

"Noooooo!!"

"How can I allow a mere heart demon to toy with me?!"

Alden let out a loud, piercing cry. He slowly raised his head, pain clearly visible in his eyes as he gritted his teeth uncomfortably. A faint light of determination shone in his pained eyes.

"You're not worthy to cause me pain!"

Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet, staring daggers at the demon, which wore an icy smile.

"How laughable."

The demon let out a scoffing sound as it took a step forward like a king before halting once again.

"Even in this life," Alden cut him off, his expression strange and unclear whether it was pain or confidence.

One of the things he hated most was being compared to another person, especially his junior brother.

The heart demon stood there, its eyes fixed on him without interrupting, waiting for him to complete his statement.

"Now I see." A short laugh escaped Alden's lips.

Why was it called the heart demon in the first place? Because it could see through its victim's memories and use the most painful of them all to torment the victim's confidence, causing havoc in their hearts, making them live in pain and regret for the rest of their lives.

Now, knowing this fully, Alden was able to calm his agony-filled heart, though he wasn't able to completely rid himself of those emotions.

Nevertheless, for now, he wanted to deal with the problem in front of him. He would worry about other things later.

"Funny enough, you exist because the previous owner allowed it. But you see, now I'm the one in charge."

"You're nothing but a prisoner in the depths of my mind."

"Humbly stay in your cage, heart demon. Too bad you will never know what it's like to experience the outside world."

Locking eyes with the demon, he bombarded it with harsh words without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, instead of hearing the heart demon roar or speak back, what happened next took him by surprise. A dark smile was plastered on the demon as it stood motionless.

"Good, good, good. Surely not a weakling."

That was all he heard before the heart demon disappeared from view and darkness covered the whole place.