As the streak of lightning-fast approached me, the sparks of lightning hanging off Liana''s body blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    At the same time, my manapletely ran out, returning my perception of time to normal, so when I reopened my eyes, I couldn''t even see her, only the sparks of lightning on the floor.


    I had no weapons.


    If I dismissed the jar I had made out of corruption in my hands, all the particles inside it would leave the jar and head straight at the tree.


    Even at Liana''s speed, destroying all those particles before they reached the tree would be impossible, so the spirit of the World Tree would be further damaged.


    But... was that a bad thing for me?


    Staring down at the jar filled with particles shing against each other, I seriously considered opening the jar and letting them all out.


    If Liana had to choose between me and saving the tree, as the elven queen, she would obviously prioritize trying to destroy as many particles as possible before they hit the tree.


    In that time, I could use my dash, which required no mana, and leave the cave before immediately exiting the World Tree with my cat in my hoodie.


    But, then, what would happen to the World Tree?


    No, who cared about what would happen to the World Tree..?


    It was between my damn life and this stupid spirit of the World Tree!


    Weighing the two options, I knew I had to choose as even though I couldn''t see Liana due to myck of mana, I could still predict and calcte her speed with my eyes.


    Within two seconds, she would reach me.


    My life or some random tree.


    To any person, including me, this choice should be easy.


    As a second passed, I ced my hand on the lid of the jar, unscrewing the top, causing the particles at the bottom to rush upwards in search of freedom.


    Staring at the people in the room, who were about to notice my presence, I continued unscrewing as their gazes lingered on the lightning sparks on the ground.


    How many people here would die as a consequence of my actions?


    No... how many people in the world would die in the future war if I destroyed the Elven realm today?


    Why did I have the right to decide who lived and died in this world? Did being from another world make me some god?


    Hiding in the shadows, manipting every important event like some puppeteer tugging on the strings of fate, controlling humans like dolls, and doing it all without a single person finding out.


    All of it was to save the world, wasn''t it?


    Then, weren''t my actions todaypletely contradicting that...?


    No, my true goal has remained unchanged since my transmigration to this world.


    My survival was the utmost priority now, just like it had always been.


    The me that Ruby saw in my chest hadn''t grown any smaller... in fact, it would probably have grown even bigger and be even brighter since all the near-death incidents I''ve experienced.


    Ripping the lid of the jar, allowing a single particle to fly out, I held my breath, seeing the sparks of lightning on the ground slowly approach me.


    What if this didn''t even work, and Liana justpletely ignored the spirit of the World Tree, leading to the death of me and the tree?


    Well, I would be a goner, so that wouldn''t be my problem then... so there was no point in thinking about it, right?


    As my heart rate quickened, and my legs attempted to tremble, but they couldn''t due to myck of energy from using my mana, I stared straight ahead, the location where my eyes predicted Liana would be bybining her average speed and previous pattern of moving.


    Suddenly, my vision flickered momentarily as a white sh blinded me, and when I reopened my eyes...


    A person with silky, long ck hair stood in the exact location I had predicted Liana to be, her backside only visible to me.


    With her hands waving desperately as the lightning sparks approached her, she turned around to face, revealing her blood-red eyes.


    Ah... she had teleportation, didn''t she?


    ...what''s the point of this mask if everyone already knows who I am...?


    Despite Ruby now blocking her path, the lightning sparks continued appearing ahead, revealing no signs of slowing down.


    Activating the dash I had been saving for my escape out of the World Tree, I stepped forward, speeding forward at Liana''s predicted location and Ruby''s current location.


    But... I was still slow; Liana''s normal speed far surpassed the speed of my dash.


    Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, more than double my usual maximum mana, I forced my head to tilt upwards and look at Ruby''s figure.


    Activating the dragon''s eyes with the mana I had regained in the short span of 5 seconds, I could see Liana''s figure for a short second.


    Over Ruby''s shoulder, Liana, with a streak of lightning following her, was heading straight at Ruby with the same indifferent expression.


    With her head turned towards me, Ruby seemed to see right through my mask as she waved with an indecipherable expression; her cheeks contorted, her mouth wide open, and her eyes locked onto the figure.


    ...didn''t she say that her me of desire to survive was the same size and brightness as mine?


    "...what a liar.."


    Who was I to talk about lying... when this entire life was built on lies upon lies, though...?


    Her glossy, ck hair glowed a dark purple and fell back, revealing her eyes as Liana and her streak of lightning-fast approached her.


    "well... I guess I''m quite the liar myself, aren''t I?"


    Throwing the open jar, full of particles, away from the tree and right at Ruby, my dragon''s eye forcefully deactivated causing blood to start leaking out of my eyes.


    Unlikest time, though, there was no pain in my expression as my blood-red eyes turned to the color gold, and blood leaked out, creating a path from my eye to my lips.


    Myst line of defense was gone.


    Sure, my survival was my highest priority, but that didn''t mean it had to match my actions, did it?


    Plenty of people, myself included, say getting into a good college is their highest priority, but then they ck off and y video games instead of studying.


    Humans are unpredictable and never consistent.


    People say something, then do the opposite.


    That is just the intrinsic nature of humans, isn''t it?


    Inconsistency is a human''s greatest challenge, yet it is their mostmon trait.


    As Ralph Emerson said


    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."


    People should not be afraid of being misunderstood and should know that it is okay to contradict themselves.


    People who think alike are more easily controlled.


    People can have ultimate freedom by contradicting themselves and never thinking the same.


    Looking down at my now empty hands, I started an internal countdown in my head.


    "10 seconds... that''s all I need."


    That was all I needed.


    Maybe my actions would actually match my greatest priority today... even after all of these inconsistencies along the way...?