The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist novel Chapter 400

Chapter 400: Chapter 401 : The Asura Queen (1)

Hephaestus lowered his head slightly, shadows deepening the lines on his weathered face.

His voice came out rough, gravelly with exhaustion.

"I had no other choice."

The forge felt colder, the embers’ glow dimming as if in sympathy.

"For my last creation... for a weapon suitable for someone like you... someone who can use powers no one else can..."

His tired eyes lifted toward Alex, holding a flicker of desperate hope.

"I needed something unique."

"Something no one else could even dream of wielding."

Alex sighed softly, arms crossed, the weight of the revelation settling in.

"So what did you use?"

Hephaestus looked at him and smiled faintly, a ghost of his former pride.

"A soul."

He paused, letting the word hang heavy in the smoky air.

"A soul so corrupted... and so cursed... that even death could not fully claim it."

Alex let out a low whistle, eyebrows rising.

"Yeah... I’m going to need more detail than that."

Hephaestus met his eyes.

And for the first time, there was something almost regretful in his gaze, raw vulnerability cracking his divine facade.

"In the past," he began quietly, his voice steadying into a storyteller’s rhythm, "there was a world where I had countless followers."

"I had temples in every major city. Sects built in my name. Entire bloodlines devoted to me, their lives woven into my worship."

His fingers tightened around the empty bottle in his hand, knuckles whitening.

"In one of those sects... there was a girl."

He paused, memories surfacing like ghosts.

"She was born to the sect leader."

"The leader had many wives. Many heirs, all vying for power."

"But her mother... was the cult leader’s favorite concubine. And that bred jealousy among the other wives."

"Her mother was falsely accused of infidelity."

"Accused by the other wives who feared her position, scheming in the shadows."

"The sect leader did not investigate, as he believed the false evidence presented to him."

"He did not defend her."

"He did not protect his daughter."

Alex remained silent, leaning in, taking more interest.

Hephaestus continued.

"They were thrown out."

"Cast onto the streets like trash."

"The once-revered wife... and her child."

The forge seemed quieter, as if the flames held their breath.

"The mother begged for mercy."

"No one helped. Former allies turned away."

"The sect that once praised her... spat at her feet."

The faintest bitterness crept into his tone as he continued.

"They wandered the streets for months."

"No shelter from the biting rains."

"No food beyond scavenged scraps."

"No mercy from the world they’d served."

"And eventually..."

He closed his eyes briefly, the memory cutting deep.

"The mother abandoned her own daughter."

Alex’s eyes sharpened slightly, a chill running through him.

"The girl had become a burden for her."

"She left her in a forest."

"Alone."

"To die amid the thorns and beasts."

"As the mother eventually remarried someone else."

Silence stretched, thick and mournful.

"That child survived by eating leaves, tough and bitter."

"Roots clawed from muddy earth."

"Sometimes even dirt, when hunger clawed deepest."

"She slept under broken branches, shivering through endless nights."

"No one came for her."

"No father to claim her."

"No mother to return."

"No god to answer her silent pleas."

Hephaestus’ voice grew heavier, laced with sorrow.

"Years passed in that forsaken wilderness."

"Another unique type of energy, huh?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

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