The Unwanted Daughter: When Love Comes Too Late Chapter 336: Fate

The system said flatly, "The human soul is one of the strongest forces in existence. Breaking it down and absorbing it can make the system stronger."

Erin finally understood what it meant and screamed, her voice cracking, "No! I won't agree! You never told me this before the mission started! How can you just take my soul like that!"

The system kept its cold, robotic voice, "We don't just take human souls. Before the mission, every chosen host signs a contract, and it's clearly written."

Out of nowhere, a contract floated down in front of Erin.

Her eyes locked on the highlighted line, and her blood ran cold, "If the mission fails, the host willingly offers up their soul."

Her face went pale.

Erin had never had it easy.

She'd grown up poor in the countryside, starving and freezing most winters. The only way she clawed her way out was by clinging to an older man who liked her looks.

She had almost secured her spot by his side—until his furious wife stormed in, demanding every penny spent on Erin be paid back.

Running for her life, Erin got caught in a car accident. She died bitter and unwilling, only to wake up in a vast, empty white space.

There, a being calling itself "the system" promised her another shot at life.

It said she could take over a role inside a novel world. All she had to do was steal the heroine's fate. Then she'd get it all—parents who loved her, siblings who adored her, a husband who treated her like gold, endless money, and the admiration of everyone.

Desperate, Erin said yes right away. She never even bothered to read the fine print.

If she had known it meant giving up her soul?

Even then, she probably would've agreed. After all, in the real world, she was already dead. Even if she had lived, she'd be nothing but a hated mistress; all the benefits she got from serving the old man would disappear.

But in the novel world, she could finally live the rich life she had always dreamed of—without anyone looking down on her—and even win the world's favor.

What a tempting offer!

But now the mission had failed. And all of it was gone.

"No!" Erin ripped the contract into pieces, scrambling up from the floor. "I never read it! It doesn't count! It doesn't count!"

She threw the shredded papers away and bolted.

But all around her, there was nothing but white—endless, empty white.

No matter how fast she ran, it felt like she wasn't moving at all.

The system's voice came again.

This time, its monotone voice carried the faintest trace of mockery. "Humans must pay for their choices."

As the words echoed, Erin, still running, felt herself lifted by some invisible force, hovering in the air.

Then, her soul started to twist and warp, like it was being ripped apart by a thousand giant hands.

"Ahhh!"

Her screams of pain tore through the empty whiteness, but the space swallowed them whole—no echo, no sound.

Erin yelled, desperate.

"Please! Stop! I won't run anymore—I'll do the mission again, I swear, just give me another chance!"

Her voice cracked, shifting from begging for mercy to begging for death.

"It hurts—it hurts so much! Just kill me!"

But there was no death. Only pain. Pain that dug into the deepest part of her being.

The system never planned to kill her. Human souls, like the heroine's luck, were the best kind of supplement.

That was why it lured desperate people like Erin, offering "a second chance" after death. Whether they succeeded or failed, it still gained.

Such a perfect supplement, of course, it wouldn't rush.

It would carefully tear this soul apart, making sure not to waste a single bit.

At this speed, it would take around ten years to fully absorb.

And since souls don't really die, Erin—who was terrified of dying—would definitely be thankful for an extra ten years of life!

The system happily fed on Erin's soul while still hunting for greedy humans to sign new contracts.

It didn't realize that some of the people it picked through those contracts had already begun plotting against it.

The system believed human greed made them predictable, and it dismissed everyone in those fictional worlds as nothing more than a supplement.

But to the people living there, they were real, living, breathing humans.

No matter how powerful the system was, it had no right to crush their lives!

Erin's fate was sealed, and her soul was slowly drained away as the system's supplement.

As for the fate of the system? That was a story for another chapter.