Negative Aura

Nightfall had quickly fallen over Pearlcrest City.

At this time, nearly everyone was safe in the confinement of their various manors, houses, or apartment complexes.

As per usual, Asher was one of the special few who decided to stay up at the dead hours of the night. Currently, he sat upon his bed, cross-legged, cultivating while several matters rummaged through his mind.

Even though he actually didn't do much today, his mind experienced several profound impacts that would change his way of thinking forever.

And it all stemmed from the acceptance of his Ghostly side. Even after hours passed and Asher had enough time to stew on his thoughts, nothing changed within his mind.

His eyes were still the same dazzling blue radiance, signifying he permanently abandoned his human race.

Moreover, since Asher had the time to deeply contemplate his thoughts, he also came upon another realization.

While he did let go of abiding by humanity's morals and laws, essentially losing the humanity within himself. Asher knew he still had a baseline that he'll never cross.

Indeed, Asher had already steeled himself to kill, steal and do anything within his power to go against the behemoths that are the Melton Family, Tirel Family, and the Winter Astral Sect.

In fact, Asher can already guess all three of those powerhouses' organizations committed heinous sinister deeds that are simply not known to the general public.

But Asher knows that he himself would never stoop so low.

If he were to simply abandon everything that he taught himself and experience, becoming someone who even Elsa wouldn't recognize, then he would be no different than some wild Mana Monster.

Just from the mysterious yet graceful ways that Yuki acts, Asher could tell there are probably hundreds if not thousands of profound meanings on what it takes to be a part of an actual Ghost Race.

Even from just realizing there are certain standards that set the Ghost Race apart, Asher felt as if he's taking the first slow steps into reaching a boundary that would be out of his world.

All of these aspects, of course, incredibly excited Asher.

However, among all of his expectations and hope, there was one nagging feeling continually eating away deep inside his mind.

It was at the moment he lost total control of his emotions from just hearing that Elsa would be forced into a relationship. That very moment is what Asher felt like started this tremendous change in his mental state.

And everything felt so natural to him like this was something he was merely suppressed for all this time.

But still, Asher couldn't wrap his mind around what he had felt inside his veins. Within his veins, there was a sensation that caused even the hair on his arm to stand when recalling it now.

An energy was threatening to spill out, an incredibly sinister feeling of power that Asher felt slight dread over.

The only reason he even got ahold of himself was because of Yuki's shouting in his mind.

Before Asher went and questioned her about it, he first invested himself in stabilizing the current state of his Ghost Power. He had rapidly improved thanks to Elsa's help and needed to properly adjust to it without being in the heat of the moment.

Only now, after several hours of stewing over it, that Asher decided it was time to bring this topic out.

Never changing his cross-legged position, Asher remained calm as he started to ask Yuki, 'Yuki….I know you've been listening to my thoughts all of this time. So….just what had happened at that moment.'

'Haaah~'

Yuki had instantly responded with a sigh, slightly surprising Asher. For some reason, she sounded genuinely slightly tired. Considering she literally just floats around in his soul all day, Asher could immediately tell something was up.

After seemingly taking a moment, Yuki began to talk. Her tone was serious yet captivating, causing Asher to sincerely take in every word she spoke.

'During the time you lost control, that energy you felt….that's your Negative Aura.'

'Negative Aura?'

Asher asked, puzzled. Negative Aura….that's too much of a coincidence to just so conveniently be named the opposite of his Positive Aura stat.

But, even when checking his System Stats now, there wasn't any Negative Aura mixed within.

Sensing Asher's confusion, Yuki continued on. 'No, your Negative Aura energy isn't a coincidence. Like your Positive Aura, it's something engraved in your soul beyond System Soul ever since you were conceived. Actually, your Negative Aura nearly slipped out when that brat was threatening your friends. As you're probably guessing now, this energy feeds off pure, destructive, and sometimes irrational emotions. Genuinely speaking, this energy is pretty potent stuff. Far more potent than anything you can wield right now.'

'Wait….it's that strong already?' Asher was taken back a bit.

Since Yuki saying so, wouldn't this mean that if he used this so-called Negative Aura, he could unleash a prowess that can surmount stages?

Even though Asher did feel a touch of worry at the destructive and irrational emotions, he couldn't help his curiosity growing more into Negative Aura.

After all, what he needs the most as of right now is power.

'If you put it like that, Yuki, can I possibly wield this power on my own if I just get angry enough?' Asher intently inquired.

However, Yuki's following words brought him back to reality.

'No, you can't. I cut off this energy from surging both times because of the simple fact your body and mental state are far too underdeveloped. Like, I'm telling you, letting this energy run free would bring irreversible damage to all of us.'

Asher didn't immediately reply. Yuki's tone sounded so gravely serious that he even felt a freezing chill shiver his entire body.

Asher took a moment to fully process her words and had then asked, 'I don't mean to judge your abilities Yuki but….can you always put a hold on me?'

There was something critical that Asher recalls feeling during both times Yuki stopped his emotions from exploding.

The first time with Jayline, Asher could distinctly remember that he could have actually broken through Yuki's hold if he wanted to. But, because her rational words resonated within his mind, he chose to calm down rather than losing control.

And for the second, Asher felt like he also could have potentially broken Yuki's hold. But, the combination of Yuki's booming voice and Elsa's gentle touches immediately brought back his sound reasoning.

'Any time you're about to lose control, I will always be there to stop it. But know this, Asher. Suppose you encounter a situation where your emotions become tremendously extreme, and I'm talking so chaotic that it's beyond normal. In that case, I will have to use what little energy I have to stop you. And if that happens, I'll go to sleep for some time. And if that happens….no mission for us!'

'Shit-Really?!'

Asher immediately took Yuki's words to heart. The System mission is what he's going to be heavily relying on now and for the rest of his long life.

No matter the danger these missions would give him, their rewards are too tremendous to ever give up. And Asher realized then, he'll need to take far better care of his mental state.

'Hue~. Now, now, don't get too fraught with dread, Asher.' Yuki's tone turned more jovial.

That bright, energetic pitch to her voice already caused the nerves Asher felt to soothe out of his body.

Sensing that he is much calmer now, Yuki continued to say, 'That extreme emotional state I mention is something that would rarely if ever happen. Like, you would need something so catastrophic to happen to even have a slight chance to activate it. Just think of it this way, it's good to feel anger; it's a fiery emotion that fuels a lot of people's drive. But remember, don't ever give in to it! We Ghosts have more variety in our options.'

'Ahh….right. Ghostly abilities….say, Yuki, I never thought to ask this before, but would you know why it's like there's no genuine information on Ghosts here? Elsa's reaction was so….intense.' Asher curiously asked Yuki.

Though he wasn't really expecting much since she was a Spirit locked inside that Gemstone for who knows how many years.

'Hmmm….actually, to be fair, this is quite an oddity. I mean, for a planet like this, there should be the occasional Ghost Race recorded in history. That's all I can say since I know next to nothing about this planet's specific history.' Yuki stated her piece.

Asher curled his eyebrows, feeling his innate curiosity towards this subject grow. But that was for a time on a later date.

For now, Asher refocused his mind on a different matter and asked Yuki,

'We can find more about the history later. I'm more interested in learning about the various options we Ghosts have.'

'Hehe~! Now that's the spirit! Because of your full acceptance, our Ghostly abilities will grow at a rate never seen before. And I'll guide you with everything I know. You weren't wrong at all, Asher. What we can do will make a tremendous difference that'll cause every being in this city to tremble towards their knees!'

Yuki certainly has a way with her voice as Asher felt incredibly fired up at this moment.

Even though the pressure against three behemoth powerhouses is indomitable, Asher could feel genuine hope because of his Ghostly side.