33 Chapter 32
The whiteness appeared again.
The whispers once again came.
His eyes took in the surroundings, seeing nothing but white.
His mind occupied with what he experienced.
The disbelief when he first laid eyes on his son and wife's head.
The fear when he realised he would never see them again. Never see their smiles again. Smiles that brought forth happiness and comfort. Smiles that never failed to inspire him. Smiles that no matter how many times he saw, he would never get enough of.
Smiles that he wanted to see until his last breath. Until he was on his deathbed, until his hair turned white and withered.
However, he could not see it. The future that he yearned for did not come into fruition. In one single hour, his life was turned upside down. He didn't have the courage to look at them anymore. Their gaping eyes still fresh in his mind. Judging and blaming him.
The denial was too strong to handle. He would've broken down. Shattered to thousands of pieces. Nothing would've remained afterwards. Just a working human body without a soul. An empty cup without water.
So he did what he thought was best. He created a solution. A stupid one. But a way out nonetheless.
He killed himself.
He wasn't proud of it. He found it pathetic. Running away was never the answer. That's how he lived his life. Yet, when met with such a situation, he ran like a coward, and in the most cowardly way possible.
He wasn't even able to attend their funerals. That was his job as the head of the family. His job to send the dead off, yet he gave up without even giving life a second shot.
His disappointment in himself was immeasurable.
Perhaps that's why he only remembered bits and pieces of his life. Mostly memories connected with the novel…..
Wait.
He was not someone who'll just forget a traumatic event and brush it aside, sure. He panicked, he did something as stupid as suicide in the heat of the moment. But he wasn't one to just forget about his family. A family that he cherished so, so much. He'll never want those happy times to go away. And now that he thought about it, he never questioned his lack of memories. Never, which was strange. It was not like he was busy 24/7, he had a lot of time to think about stuff.
The only conclusion remaining was….
Someone or something was influencing his mind. Blanking out his memories. But in here, whatever here was, he had resistance to it. Which means the one who's been manipulating him didn't take this place into consideration, or just didn't know about its existence. So was this place a manifestation of his aspect adapting to that influence? The aspect must've been constantly active the whole time, adapting his mind to whatever was affecting him. And this place is a physical evidence of his immunity?
He also no longer felt cold. Warmth pervading every single cell of his being. It felt like discovering a long lost home. The space felt familiar now. Bringing him peace and quiet. The whispers were still ringing, their intensity toned down into flowing warm wind that caressed his ears gently. As if scared of hurting him.
Could it be that the coldness he felt was connected to the being that was manipulating him? It seemed obvious. How it was trying to still affect him even after arriving in this mysterious place. Even in the midst of him reminiscing about his past. It affected him in the end. Maybe that's what really happened in real life. Causing him to take his own life stupidly.
However the question was who would do something like that. And why? There isn't anything particularly special about him in his past life. At least he thought so. Who knows, maybe he's the descendant of a supreme god, his power sealed due to how dangerous he was. Just like the xianxia protagonists that only relied on plot armour to get through their enemies. Awakening different powers or bloodlines every time they were slightly pressed.
Maybe he was like that too.
…
…
Nah…it's too cliche to be real.
But what about the woman? Girl? He saw in the sun. How was that even connected to him. He honestly didn't have an answer for that. He did notice one thing though. The figure was the one who led him to the whiteness. In some way, it helped him? He guessed.
Why? He wondered.
Again, a question he had no answer for.
He shrugged, thinking the answer will eventually come to him one day.
His eyes looked around, seeing no end to the whiteness before an idea struck him.
He imagined a king sized bed appearing in front of him, its covers red and silky to the touch.
And surprise, surprise. It worked wonderfully.
A bed just like how he visualised came into existence, gently floating down onto the ground. Its covers blood red, perfect for sliding your hands on it due to how silky it was.
He grinned, his imagination running wild. Summoning various things into reality. His dream PC set up that he wished he had the money to buy. A pool hundreds of meters wide, a fucking football stadium, the manga collection that he had when he was still alive. And many other things he wanted before.
And last but not least, people.
He looked on as two transparent human figures came into view, one of them. A boy, with curly black hair, brown chubby eyes, stared at him, smiling widely in excitement. A smile very similar to his.
The other one, a woman. She had straight, gentle black hair cascading down hair shoulders, reaching as far as her back. Brown eyes as bright as the sun stared back at him, her smile soft and loving. Entrancing him once more.
He smiled softly at the sight, his eyes took on a wet sheen.
He opened his mouth with slight difficulty, knowing they no longer could hear him. But he had to get it out.
"I'm sorry."
They both stood still. Not reacting to his words, their smiles not wavering in the slightest.
A knot formed in his throat.
"I'm….So sorry for being a coward and not sending you guys out properly. I took the easy way out. I was stupid."
…
"Just know I will remember and cherish our happy times for as long as I live. I won't forget you two ever again."
…
"I love you guys, thanks for putting up with me."
His smile nearly faltered, but he held himself back. Then he waved his hand, allowing them to disperse into the space.
"Goodbye."
His mood somber, he awkwardly scratched his head in thought.
Now…How the fuck do I get out of here? Just say it out loud? It's worth a try.
"Uh….I want to get out."
At his words, the whiteness rapidly receded, consuming him along with it. Leaving nothing but darkness.
…
…
…
Ariel blinked his eyes, opening them to the light of the pale sun, giving him a sense of deja vu. His neck cracked from not moving for so long.
He felt something on his chest. Looking down, his eyes landed on a palm. A palm covering his heart. He followed the arm to the one touching him. Finding someone he didn't expect.
It was Sunny, his head turned to the side, his other hand on his chin. Appearing deep in thought.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Sunny jolted in his place, retracting his hand back in a flash. His eyes widened at the questioning gaze directed at him. From the person that he thought was in a strange state and that he had now way of coming out of it.
An answer found its way onto his tongue. A truthful response becuase of his flaw.
"I…Was just measuring your heartbeat, to see if you were still alive. You should've seen yourself, the way your body was positioned was very strange. It was as if you were possessed."
Ariel narrowed his eyes at the description, knowing Sunny was telling the truth.
So no going into that place in front of people before further experimentation. Noted.
Ariel nodded before turning his head and setting his eyes on Nephis and Cassie. Both of them seemed to be still out of it.
His eyes still on the two of them, he questioned.
"Do you remember anything before you passed out?"
"No just that I was very fearful of something. I'm still confused as to what happened, care to explain?"
Sunny shook his head with a frown, his dark eyes secretly looking behind him, they were apprehensive. A second later, relief visibly flashed in them. An action that Ariel noticed but decided to ignore.
Ariel's eyes locked onto the sun, speaking bluntly.
"A nightmare creature. probably a Great one, or just a very strong Corrupted one. I don't really know which rank it was exactly, because I was busy fighting only one of its limbs."
Sunny's face turned pale at the mention of those ranks, lost for words.
Ariel didn't mind, this was what he expected. He continued.
"You remember the transcendent soul shards I stole from the corpse?"
Sunny nodded, already coming to a dark realization. A realization he wished with all his being wasn't true.
"Well, the one who killed it came after us. Meaning whatever attacked us, can kill a Corrupted Devil easily. And my gut is telling me it will come back again to hunt us once night arrives."
Sunny Sat down on the ground hearing the grim news, his hands tightly clasped together. He opened his mouth hesitantly. Fear slowly clouding his eyes.
"Doesn't that mean...We're just doomed to death?"
"Yep, that is true."
Damn it! Why am I such a fucking idiot. Of course things won't go smoothly no matter where I am, because of this damn cursed attribute haunting every step of my life. Survive? Yeah right. If it wasn't for Ariel. I wouldn't even be alive right now.
Wait, How did Ariel even manage to handle it?
A question gnawed itself to the surface of his mind, pushing away the fear for a few seconds.
"Ariel."
"Hmm?"
"How the hell did you survive fighting that thing?"
Ariel, hearing the question, finally took his eyes of the sun to look him straight in the eyes.
A small smile crept up his face.
"First of all, it was just one limb out of thousands probably. Secondly, I don't think it was even taking me seriously, I got the feeling that it was just playing around. Like a child playing with its food."
His smile deepened.
"And lastly, A strong will along with a shit ton of luck. That's how I survived."
However, in his mind, Ariel was snickering innocently.
Definitely not because of an overpowered aspect, and immortality. definitely not.
A/N: I hope you like my explanation of the recent chapters, if you're confused about anything, Just ask and I will try to answer to the best of my ability. So give me those stones that you hold. and thank you for support, Have a good day.
