A wave of horror washed over me as I realized what had happened. The girl I had met in the store had been corrupted, turned into a shadow of her former self. How had it come to this?

Though her desperation was palpable in the store, she wasn't corrupted at that moment. However, she kept repeating that she couldn't bear it anymore. Suddenly, I recalled the "Collar" she often spoke of. Looking closely, I couldn't find any collar anywhere. The original Anthony kept pulling his hair, unable to connect the dots.

In the original story, Anthony never left the house until he arrived at the imperial academy. How could the girl find him then? Unless... Anthony somehow stole the collar from the house, and on his way to the imperial academy, the girl could sense the collar binding Anthony.

Anthony's thoughts became frantic as he tried to comprehend the situation. The idea that the girl had detected the collar in her possession filled him with concern. Furthermore, he had formed a soul contract with her. However, a crucial detail caught his attention: she was still fine, not corrupted.

Anthony's soul was connected to the contact, and hers was too. From what he knew about soul contracts, they could be connected between contractors. Did that mean she remained lucid because of him? If that were the case, it would be a relief. However, if she were to become corrupted, it would be a serious problem.

Suddenly, he remembered that when a pure being becomes corrupted, their rank also changes, turning them into a corrupted creature.

Anthony's eyes widened as he realized the significance of this information. Anthony was corrupted by her, so everything made sense. Anthony slowly descended into the abyss as time passed, and more and more whispers entered Anthony's ear, leading him to do everything he did when he arrived at the academy.

"Give me back my body, give it to me!" The original Anthony began walking towards me, his eyes filled with rage. Letting out a sigh, I looked at him with pity, my eyes shining. In his pocket, an artifact glowed faintly: indeed, it was the collar. The girl's eyes were fixed on the collar, but for some reason, she couldn't have it.

The real Anthony, though he looked like me, his rank remained Maximum Bronze.

Despite the imminent confrontation, I experienced a surprising wave of compassion for the original Anthony, the one struggling with his own inner demons. At that moment, amidst the palpable tension, I recognized the similarity between us: we were the same person, but one of us was halfway corrupted, while I remained completely whole.

When Anthony lunged at me with clear intent to harm, I knew he was losing the battle against his sanity. With a quick movement, I managed to dodge his charge, watching as the look of despair and confusion was reflected in his eyes. The real Anthony was desperate, fighting against his own inner demons pushing him towards violence.

Amidst the struggle, I was able to bring him down to the ground relatively easily, though not without feeling a heaviness in my heart for what was happening. As I kept Anthony under control, I glanced quickly to the side and noticed the girl who had been watching us all this time, standing still, her gaze fixed on the scene unfolding before her.

In the midst of chaos and confrontation, I felt overwhelmed by a sense of compassion for the original Anthony, trapped in his own internal struggle. I recognized in him the same facets that were part of me, although a part of them had sunk into darkness. When he came at me with clear intent to harm, I perceived the desperation in his movements.

I evaded his attacks easily, but each dodge was also an evasion of the sad reality we were facing.

The real Anthony, visibly unhinged, showed clear signs of having lost his sanity. However, despite the threat he represented, I couldn't help but feel compassion for him, for the part of me that had been lost in the abyss of corruption. As I subdued him on the ground, I noticed from the corner of my eye the girl's fixed gaze, a silent witness to our internal conflict.

At that moment, the complexity of the situation became evident. I wasn't just fighting against my other self, but also facing the consequences of my own divided existence. How could I reconcile these two parts of myself? How could I find a way to redeem the original Anthony without falling into the same darkness that consumed him?

I looked disdainfully at the dark orb representing the essence of the real Anthony. It was almost completely submerged in darkness, a shadow of what it once was. I knew there was no salvation for him, that his condition was irreversibly worse at the moment of his death. "I'm sorry," I murmured sincerely, acknowledging the bitterness of what was to come.

I couldn't allow control of my body to fall into the hands of that overflowing darkness. I had clung to this world, to the relationships I had cultivated, to the people I loved. I couldn't let the real Anthony ruin everything I had built. With a quick and decisive movement, I broke his neck, ending his torment and ensuring my own existence.

It was an act of self-defense, yes, but it was also an act of preservation of everything I valued in this life.

I watched with a mixture of disbelief as the real Anthony gradually faded away, dissipating into an ethereal glow until only his collar remained on the black ground, like a silent witness to the internal battle I had just fought. Though my eyes reflected an apparent coldness, within me boiled conflicting emotions.

I leaned slowly to the ground and picked up the collar that had once been a symbol of the real Anthony. At that moment, my thoughts turned to the corrupted girl who was watching the collar with inexplicable intensity.

Approaching her cautiously, I handed her the collar. I wasn't sure what to think of her at that moment. While it was true that her corruption had triggered the events that led to the downfall of the real Anthony, it was also thanks to her that I had the opportunity to reincarnate in this new body. Moreover, I couldn't ignore the crucial role played by the dragon's note in all this mess.

Amidst the uncertainty and complexities of the situation, one thing was clear: if the real Anthony hadn't succumbed to corruption and had fulfilled his role as he should have, I would never have ended up here. That reality resonated in my mind as I looked at the girl and the collar in her hands, her body began to glow, and the darkness that occupied her soul began to fade.