System vs Rebirth

As soon as Anna reached her room, she sat on her bed in a lotus pose before closing her eyes.

In an instant, the scenery changed into a barren plain. There was a man sitting on top of a boulder, and the sky was dark, with lightning sparking in the sky.

"What are you doing with my consciousness?" Anna gritted her teeth, thinking this was caused by the spirit.

The Thunder Berserker Spirit calmly opened his eyes, looking at Anna without any emotion. He simply said, "I've done nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? Just take a look at this place. Because of it, my instinct is going berserk." Anna bit her lips.

"I think you're misunderstanding something, Anna Stargaze." The spirit frowned and said with a cold tone. "I have never intended for this to happen. However, a spirit has to match their power with the host. It's impossible to do so, but we're the ones forcefully doing it so that we can give you power.

"And just like you, humans, we also have our own traits. You're the one who should take care of this remaining trait."

"What? I have to take care of your trait?"

"You don't want to do it?" The spirit smirked. "If you don't, then it's simple. I can leave your body anytime. Not all spirits could do it, but you seem to be underestimated us, Humanoid Spirit, too much."

"Leave my body…" Anna's body trembled. If the spirit really moved out of her body, all her strength would disappear. When that happened, she didn't know what others would do to her.

The spirit itself was the one converting the energy in the Demon Crystal into their Spiritual Energy. If the spirit left her body, she wouldn't be able to get stronger anymore. Even if she could retain her Spiritual Energy, she would still be considered a cripple.

"…" Anna fell silent, not understanding the entire situation. First, her instinct was going rampage. Second, the Thunder Berserker Spirit had gone all the way to threaten her. This was the first time he behaved this way.

Seeing her confused expression, the Thunder Berserker Spirit harrumphed and said with a cold tone. "I thought you would be better after getting the second chance. It seems that I've put too much faith in you."

"Second chance… How do you know about that?" Anna's body trembled. "Wait. Don't tell me, my reincarnation is related to you?"

"I'm not directly involved." The Thunder Berserker Spirit shook his head. "But you could say that I still played a role in giving you a second chance."

"How in the world…" Anna tried to recall every piece of information in her past life about the spirits, but there was no record related to this reincarnation.

"Noel should have been the one to reincarnate. Unlike the self-centered you, Noel was a better choice. He took great care of his spirits and tried to understand them. It could be said, the spirit has its own trait, weakness, and strength. He understood them and tried to find a way to utilize everything in his own way. He is special because he doesn't do anything like others.

"How about you? What do you think about spirits?" The Thunder Berserker Spirit narrowed his eyes, giving a cold gaze. One wrong word might make him leave her body.

"I tried to understand you as well." Anna gritted her teeth. "I tried to control the instinct, I—"

"Stop." The Thunder Berserker Spirit was annoyed. "I, I, and I! Yes. That's what you are, Anna Stargaze. Everything is about you."

The Thunder Berserker Spirit leaped off the boulder and stood before her. Lightning began to spark around his arm and turned into a dragon. "This is how you showed off in front of that man, right?"

Anna widened her eyes because the spirit was extending its hand toward her as if she wanted to murder her with this ability. She instinctively raised her own hand and used the same technique, thinking she wouldn't lose.

The moment the lightning dragon on their arms collided, a thunderclap resounded, giving an additional force.

And as expected, Anna was launched into the air and rolled a few times on the ground.

"Gah." She coughed a few times while holding her right arm. It felt like her fingers were crushed by the lightning.

"Even with the memory of your first life, you can't even take a single attack from me despite using the same technique. Are you even trying? Didn't you say you learned how to control my instinct? Didn't you want to say you tried to control my power in your own way? And what is this?

"You're different from Noel Ardagan. He cares about his spirits, and in exchange, the spirits support him with all their might. That's why he can get stronger quicker and keep up with your pace despite not having any memory about his past life."

Anna gritted her teeth and shouted, "I have tried to do everything, including controlling this berserk nature. What do you want me to do!"

"Again, you said 'I'. You have treated me like that even in your past life. Do you think we're a tool?"

"I have never treated you as a tool!"

"Then, have you ever asked anything about me other than my power?"

"I…" Anna couldn't answer that question.

"Have you ever checked my condition, my trait, personality… anything about me?"

"…" Anna couldn't even open her mouth at this point.

"Have you ever thought that the method you used to control the berserk nature might actually hurt me?"

Anna looked down. She had done all kinds of things in order to control the instinct. Even the spirit before her never showed any dissatisfaction whenever she visited him, of course, for more power. So, she thought everything was fine… No, she always took it for granted. She was never concerned about him.

The Thunder Berserker Spirit stood in front of her and looked at her coldly. "I ask again, Anna Stargaze. Have you ever treated me like a living being instead of your tool?"