The Retired Hero is an Extra

***

In the nothingness that seemed to have become Bhairav's home.

His spirit or his body materialized, but with its radiance dimming as seconds ticked by.

Suddenly, he sensed a disturbance in the space around him, and quickly looked in that direction.

Looking at the familiar face of Jash Ramille in front of him, his focus narrowed in on the new spirit, but he didn't do much.

It was difficult to articulate his actions with mere words as he didn't really have a body, nor was it his soul.

After all, the soul was a singular existence with two personalities or individuals formed from it.

...

Time passed uneventfully until Jash finally woke up in a daze, only to find himself surrounded by the bizarre nothingness.

Just as he was about to panic, he heard a firm and mature voice clearly.

"Relax."

It was just one word yet his mind immediately calmed down, as if a spell had been cast on him.

Trying to locate the source, Jash flailed around, but it didn't amount to any change despite his relentless attempts.

Before he could exhaust himself fully, a spirit appeared in front of him in the form of Bhairav.

The difference in their radiance was stark, easily noticeable by Bhairav, but Jash failed to notice, as he was too shell-shocked after recognizing Bhairav.

He didn't know anything about their current situation, yet the life he had just lived through forced him to calm down in the face of an inexplicable situation.

"Hmm." Bhairav hummed with little amusement before they both stared each other dead in the eye, or what they presumed to be their eyes.

"You must be confused. Unlike me, you can't speak, move, or do anything except think. That too, only because of the memories increasing your mental strength."

Bhairav said in a matter-of-fact tone as if he weren't ridiculing Jash, but just stating the truth.

He didn't wait for any response, however, and continued explaining.

"I believe you have some hypotheses regarding the current situation."

"Let me confirm your conjecture:You and I are of the same soul."

Silence engulfed them as Jash's spirit wavered at the astounding revelation. He didn't know much about souls; his knowledge was not even at a superficial level.

Yet one fact remained: one soul could only allow one life to exist.

Duality of souls was a curse.

As if reading his thoughts, Bhairav confirmed, "You are correct in thinking that only one of us can exist."

The bombshell remark threatened to exhaust Jash's spirit and his barely reliant mental fortitude.

"Before you think of it as me possessing you, just know that I am the reason you were formed, but I have no interest in taking over."

The words stunned Jash to the point of cursing. 'Then why the hell are we here? Just go away!'

"It's not that easy, youngling," Bhairav commented, as if predicting his thoughts.

"There are only 3 ways to end it... without dying, that is."

Jash had an ominous feeling about the last words spoken, as they seemed to hold a hidden meaning he couldn't make sense of.

"First, we both clash, and the victor absorbs the other, or whatever remains of the loser, to heal themselves."

"Second, we both agree to merge our personalities, giving birth to a new distinct one with both our memories."

"Third, one of us surrenders and ceases to exist, leaving behind his memories and heritage to the other."

Listing the options, Bhairav turned quiet, giving Jash time to contemplate which option to choose.

But inwardly, he thought bitterly, 'He won't choose any of them...'

...

On the other hand, Jash thought about everything he could, given his limited knowledge, but he didn't know what the correct option would be.

'I don't know what he will choose...'

'He did say he doesn't want to take over me... but why would he list these options instead of just surrendering?'

'There has to be some catch...'

Unable to come up with a solid reason, he moved on to mull over the three options instead, considering the pros and cons.

'The first option is a no-go. There is just no way I can win.'

'The second option is too dubious... Merging? Who knows what the result will be?'

'Surrender? He didn't do it... And there's just no way Imma do it!'

'...'

After a string of thoughts, Jash didn't decide on any option.

Even if he did, how would he tell the other party, when all he could do was think and analyze?

Bringing him out of his stupor was the surprisingly calm voice of Bhairav.

"You can't decide, right?"

It sounded as if he expected this situation.

Unlike Jash, Bhairav had lived through Jash's entire life, making Jash predictable in his eyes.

"Well, I can't cease to exist but you can't leave if both of us exist."

"The only option we have is, Merging."

"Don't mistake it for forming a different personality, or us ceasing to exist."

"You have seen my partial memories, so you should know, my world had mana too. I can help you become the strongest, but that's not your goal."

"We can compromise."

"I will give you memories of mana and training, including my sensation and emotions of that time, helping you become accustomed to mana itself."

"After all, you're naive in thinking, everything will not go just as you wish."

"Didn't you already see it?"

Jash could only agree in his thoughts, but Bhairav didn't mind as he waited for him to come to terms with it.

"I guess, you'd be confused."

"Let's just say I will live through you and slowly merge into you, changing everything about you, but it won't affect me much."

"Unless I exhaust myself completely, I can live here. Inside our soul."

"I have no motivation to live."

Stopping after saying what he wanted to, Bhairav waited for Jash's decision.

Naturally, Jash wouldn't agree so easily. If he were just the young naive Jash Ramille, he might've agreed.

But he had already witnessed 19 years of treachery-filled life of Bhairav.

No way he would take the words at face value.

There had to be a hidden meaning.

'Does he want to influence me into accepting the tempting offer before he slowly takes over my body?'

Jash didn't know why, but the thought of losing himself to even his own counterpart, didn't sound good.

And the idea didn't seem to budge, no matter how he tried to counter it.

Again, his deep thoughts paused because Bhairav spoke, drawing his attention for an unknown reason.

"You have already changed with just the easy part of my life... If I wanted to take over you, I wouldn't have interfered, weakening myself."

"Just one look at those memories will crumple your spirit, enough to be stomped in less than a moment."

"If you're so wary, how about an alternative?"

"I will become your master!"

Jash wanted to hear more about this proposal but Bhairav refused to budge in the slightest.

Unknown to Jash, Bhairav had already overstepped his bounds multiple times, and he would cease to exist soon without any benefit to Jash.

That was something he didn't want to see. What use was reincarnating, if his new life also suffered?

In the end, it all depended on Jash's decision.

Not only had Bhairav interfered with the memories, but he even allowed Jash to think in this space, further crippling himself. And he even gave that information to Jash! Albeit indirectly.

***