Chapter 25: Overwhelming power

"Hmm, how could I cause any trouble that concerned Ascendants?" He was perplexed about the words of the woman with the cape.

Her serious expression applied a lot of pressure on the boy, who didn't know what she was talking about. Somehow, he could see a hint of relief in her eyes once she noticed that Dean wasn't bluffing about not knowing about anything he could have done.

'Well, he seems to be a kid, so I can't be so harsh on him.' She sighed, trying to keep her cool. 'But this disgusting energy is spread all around, and it's gathering around him... That's strange. I never saw "Chaos" interact with a human like this. Generally, this kind of thing just happens when they are...'

"I didn't find anything." The man with the boots reported to the woman. Now, he wasn't in a rush anymore, and his crazy speed was gone. The golden shine of his boots was now gone, replaced by pitch black.

"I think we need to keep an eye around this place. It is gathering here now. "Chaos" around isn't a good thing, and it can attract Dreads."

"What's up with the boy? Why is "Chaos" gathering around him?"

The woman returned her gaze towards Dean, who was still feeling overwhelmed by her presence. He wanted to stay there to converse with them and see what they were doing, but at the same time, he felt the need to get out as fast as possible.

'Darn it! It's not all day when I get the chance to see an Ascendant walking around the refuge. I have so many questions to ask!' He was trying to cover his trembling hands and smile, but his lips turned up strangely. Also, he was late to go to the forge, which made him feel guilty.

"Look, boy," the man crouched in front of him, even though he wasn't too taller than Dean. "We are concerned because we can see something you can't since you are just a normal human. When you Ascend, you also get capable to sense "Chaos" in the air. They are like wavy red lines traveling around. Depending on their strength or quantity, they will be thin and weak or dense and thick. The thing is that there are quite thick lines around this zone nowadays, and it is covering a good perimeter."

"Be straightforward, Jon." The woman put her hand on his neck and forced him to get up. "Stop acting like he is a kid as well."

"Ok, ok. Calm down." He cleaned his throat. "Well, the problem is that this much of "Chaos" is gathering around you, but we don't know the nature of this energy very well, so it can be an isolated and inoffensive case. Got it?"

Dean nodded his head for them. He felt somewhat stiff.

"Well, since we have no clue about it and you don't seem to be a disguised Dread, you can just go for now, ok? You seemed to be in a hurry as well."

The boy decided to let it go for now. Since something so dangerous was happening, it won't do any good to hold them with dumb questions.

However, instead of keep going on his way to the forge, he gave a step back. For some reason, that overwhelming feeling was coming back again in his heart. He didn't know why that anxiety decided to appear right at that moment.

'This thing... is like a black hole. It's sucking everything, it's spinning at a speed that I can't even register well. I feel like being eaten inside out by it.' He put his hand on his chest. Cold sweat started to run down his back and armpits. Some drops appeared on his face as well, but he wiped them.

"Hey, boy, we said that you can go now. No need to be afraid of us. We are here to protect you and all the other survivors." The man said, raising one brow. He could sense the look of admiration that the brat gave toward them when they arrived. However, now it was replaced by caution and disturbance.

"He doesn't seem to be feeling well." The severe voice of the woman echoed in Dean's ears as if it was the rumble of thunder. "Is there something wrong? Are you hiding something from us?"

She squinted her eyes while approaching slowly.

"Brat, does this energy affects you in some way? It is a coincidence, right? Don't fool us here. That's something serious!" Even the man, who looked quite cozy in his own way before, started to give him a nervous look.

Dean kept retrieving back, that feeling pulsing on his heart and coming in waves. He barely could bear such a thing.

'I want to puke. There is something inside me keeping me alarmed. What is this thing about "Chaos"? Why are they linking it to me? Even if this thing is around me, I couldn't know. I can't see it. It's not my fault.'

His vision began to get blurry. Instead of walking carefully behind, he began to stumble, nearly falling.

In the background, those two talked to him with anticipation in their voices. They looked at each other with concerned expressions.

Dean was about to fall, but his body bumped into someone who appeared all of a sudden behind him.

"Hey, Jon, Helen. What the heck is happening here? Why is "Chaos" getting so dense?" The man asked, putting the youth aside and walking towards them.

Dean finally lost balance on his legs and fell on all fours to the ground. Tears began to flow out of his eyes. He didn't want to cry at all, but the tears came abruptly.

He was trying to say something, but his voice didn't come. It seemed that his throat was closing. The boy couldn't even breathe air.

"What the hell is happening?" Jon struggled to talk, his voice barely could be heard.

The Ascendants were willing to go see what was going on with the boy. Maybe help him if they could. However, their bodies couldn't move at all. They were feeling a kind of pressure that was very similar to what Dean was feeling.

Too much "Chaos" around could make humans with a weaker "Willpower" get paralyzed and struggle to make their brain's commands get correctly answered by their bodies. It was a kind of barrier between their consciousness and their physical body.

The density of "Chaos" around was increasing too much, as if a Dread of an earlier generation was around them. It was so oppressive that their minds seemed to be about to explode.

'I need to do something! There is a different threat coming! Is it because of the boy? But he is striving because of this quantity of energy as much as we are. Maybe it's a Dread coming from inside the earth? That's a rare thing, though.' Helen was reasoning the best way she could.

They couldn't deal with that much energy, so it was unlikely that they would face such a powerful monster. Nevertheless, find the cause of that much energy would be a good first step.

With stiff steps forward, Helen began to approach the boy, stretching her hand with much effort.

Once Jon found out what she was trying to do, he did the same, and the man who just arrived as well.

Dean was the only hint they had now. They needed to, at least, get near the boy and investigate. If they waited even further, the "Chaos" around would be dense enough to make them pass out.

Step by step, they shortened the distance. The tips of their fingers were nearly touching the boy.

Nonetheless, Dean gave a scream that seemed to make the earth shake. Black and red rays appeared surrounding him, just as if he got electrocuted. The pressure over his body was so intense that fissures appeared on the ground under him.

The "Chaos" gathered inside him broke out at once, creating a shockwave that launched the Ascendants several meters behind. One of them smacked his back on a nearby construction.

That enormous power cracked the walls of the houses and establishments around. Whatever the object in a ratio of 20 meters was exploded or launched. People who were passing by those streets were also suffering the consequences.

That young individual seemed like the center of a violent storm that destroyed everything around them.

Bruskly, Dean passed out, falling to the ground. Those black and red rays disappeared, together with the pressure around and all that "Chaos" energy.

The Ascendants began to stand up, still dizzy and struggling to support themselves on all fours.

The worse seemed to be gone. The environment was now calmer. People were standing on their feet and looking to the sides, not understanding what happened.

Jon and Helen were going to walk toward the boy... but they heard a loud sound again, this time even more threatening than Dean's scream.

They looked at each other, their faces getting paler.

"The walls..." Helen muttered.