Advent of the Three Calamities - Chapter 831: Rating Food [1]

Chapter 831: Rating Food [1]

“Hic… Hic…”

Small whimpers echoed across the surroundings.

A young girl sat alone, her eyes puffy as tears streaked down her little face.

“…..”

I stared at her in silence, unsure of how to react.

’This is starting to make more and more sense. In the end, the darkness that I found within Julien’s body all stemmed from Evelyn. Having been exposed since a very young age, and with Noel making sure that it was all contained in his body, it’s only natural that he turned out the way that he did.’

In all honesty, I didn’t know how to feel about the sudden revelation.

I understood why he did this, but I also began to feel sorry for what had happened.

’…I guess this was how I used to be in the past.’

I looked at Emmet.

His gaze was cold as he stared at Evelyn. There was no trace of emotion in his eyes or body. He was almost… soulless. It was the sight of him that brought certain memories to mind as I began to understand more and more the state of mind I used to be in.

’Back then, I didn’t know what was real or what was fake.’

New visions would appear constantly.

In those visions, I’d relive certain events and situations.

The more I encountered them, the more I started to lose my sense of reality.

I started to question myself and the world that I was in.

Which one was my real reality?

What was real? What was fake…?

Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of scenarios and situations constantly flooded my mind. The fact that I was still standing, even managing to speak, was a miracle in itself.

’…It’s no wonder I eventually died.’

It just wasn’t sustainable.

The memory wipe was also understandable. No, necessary.

I wouldn’t have been able to remain sane otherwise.

“Hic… Hic…”

Hearing Evelyn’s whimpers, I turned my attention towards her.

But the moment I did, my expression froze.

Thin black lines began to crawl across her skin, spreading slowly until they covered nearly every inch of her body, pulsing in sync with her heartbeat. A sinister energy radiated from her, bringing a certain heaviness to the air.

Enough to make me shudder.

Tension began to rise in the air as my body tensed.

And soon enough—

Flick!

Her head turned in our direction, my entire body locking into place as I felt a shudder run down my entire body.

I didn’t dare make a sound in that moment, feeling her gaze sweeping over my entire body as my heart drummed loudly within my chest.

Staring at the young Evelyn, I saw that her tears had stopped. Her expression was cold now, her eyes dark as she slowly scanned the area around me. She couldn’t see me, but I could tell she could feel I was there.

The thought made me shudder, but thankfully, Emmet was prepared.

With a single swipe of his hand, Evelyn’s expression froze.

She sat still for a moment before eventually closing her eyes.

Thud!

She fell face-first against the ground, the black veins around her body beginning to fade. It didn’t take long for the sinister energy around her body to fade as everything returned to normal.

“…”

I stared at the scene in silence, unsure of how to react.

But when I turned my head to look at Emmet again, my breath paused.

He…

Or more like… ’I’ was gone.

’Oh, shit.’

This was the moment when I realized I was alone.

’…What am I supposed to do now?’

I looked around, trying to see any traces of my old self, but regardless of where I looked, he was gone. Deep down, I also understood that he wouldn’t come back. He had shown me everything that needed to be shown and explained everything that needed to be explained.

Taking a moment to calm myself down, I processed all of the information that ’he’ had shared with me.

’There are nine Outer Beings in total. One was destroyed by Noel and Panthea, leaving eight remaining. The Three Calamities serve as vessels… hosts for three of those beings. Once they become corrupted, they can open gateways between Earth and the Outer Beings, allowing them to reconstruct the Mirror Dimension again. Each cycle traps more souls, recreating a new Earth in the process before repeating.’

This was the best way that I could summarize the current situation. It was a sinister plan, and one that made my heart grow heavy.

From what I understood, this new cycle that the Outer Beings were about to start was also going to be the most terrifying one.

It was going to be one where the people trapped within it wouldn’t even know they were trapped.

’…I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad idea. However, even if they do succeed in creating this perfect prison, I’m sure they’re going to repeat the cycle. There’s absolutely no way that there will never be a person who doesn’t realize the truth. They probably know this as well, and will likely reconstruct a new Mirror Dimension every few thousand years.’

The thought made my heart grow even heavier as I fixed my attention on Evelyn on the floor. Her eyes were still closed, and the black veins on her face had almost completely receded.

Seeing her frown in her sleep as her expression contorted with pain, I bent down to take a better look at her.

I didn’t know much about Evelyn.

She wasn’t someone that I interacted with a lot.

Usually, she talked with Aoife and Kiera. She had a sort of relationship with Julien, and she was also close to Leon.

In regard to my relationship with her…?

I wasn’t sure.

I really didn’t know, but staring at her, or more precisely, the subtle milky white membrane around her body, I finally found the answer that I had been looking for.

’Source.’

The only way for me to contain the darkness that was taking over her.

Thinking back to the ’present’ that I was in, my heart sank.

I knew that I didn’t have much time.

But how was I supposed to tap into this power? Not only that… How much time did I even have at my disposal? When was the third leaf going to end?

These thoughts weighed heavily in my mind as I scrumbled to find an answer.

But soon—

“Mhh.”

A soft voice echoed.

Evelyn’s eyes trembled, and a moment later she opened her eyes.

The moment she did, she looked around.

“Where… am I?”

Her small voice was a little hoarse.

She didn’t seem to be aware of what had happened, even forgetting about the incident with Julien for a short moment.

Staring at her, I grit my teeth.

Eventually…

“Hey.”

I called out to her, shifting my [Lament of Lies] and turning myself into the smaller version of Julien.

“Julien…?”

Evelyn blinked her eyes slowly as she took sight of me.

The moment she did, as if memories of what had happened resurfaced in her mind, tears started to swell up.

My lip twitched.

“…Stop. I’m sorry.”

I immediately apologized to her, taking out a napkin and using it to wipe her eyes.

“I was angry.”

“You were mean!!”

Evelyn shouted at me, her small voice echoing loudly within the surroundings as she glared at me.

I could only helplessly pacify her while wiping her tears.

“Yes, yes.”

“Mean!”

She continued to shout at me while I could only reply with, ’Yes, you’re right. Sorry. I’m very sorry. I was tired. Sorry,’ and so on.

At the same time that I tried my best to pacify Evelyn, I observed the murky white substance around her body. With each passing second, it started to fade, and I knew that it wouldn’t be long until it would fade completely.

’No, I need more time.’

I could feel something stir within my body as I observed it.

Having already tapped into the source before, I was familiar with it.

As such, I just needed more time to learn about it.

But…

“Say sorry again!”

Evelyn was really making it hard for me to do so as she squirmed away from me.

“You were mean!”

“…..”

’Should I just knock her out and study it?’

The thought crossed my mind for a moment before I shook it out of my mind.

I was just about to think of an excuse to pacify her when she suddenly proposed something to me.

“To make up for it, eat with me!”

“Hm?”

I looked at Evelyn strangely.

She glared back.

“What?”

In the end, I could only agree.

With [Mana Sense] active, I was more or less aware of who was around and what was going on. I was also already aware of the fact that a certain presence had taken notice of me, and without further ado, I followed Evelyn back into the mansion as she brought me towards a private room where pastries and all sorts of food were ready.

“Sit!”

Evelyn was in her ’young master’ mode, commanding me with a serious expression.

It was cute.

“…Okay.”

I sat before a large oval table draped in a white cloth. At its center rested a gleaming silver tray piled high with an assortment of pastries, their sweet aroma filling the air. Evelyn stared at it for a good minute, saliva dripping down the side of her mouth.

“….!”

Hurriedly realizing how unbecoming she was, she wiped her mouth before glaring at me.

I looked away, pretending not to have seen it.

Cute…

Young Evelyn was certainly cute.

But above all, I was growing more familiar with the murky substance surrounding her body.

’This isn’t a power that can be understood. The only way to tap into it is by creating a direct connection with the Source. I’ve already felt the source, but I haven’t yet created a connection with it. The amount that someone can take and perceive from the Source also depends on their understanding.’

Things were becoming increasingly clear in my mind.

What Emmet had done… Or to be more precise, what the previous me had done was something that the current me could do. Perhaps not as well, but it was certainly possible for me to do it.

Not only that…

’Maybe the moment I get my blood back from Sithrus, I’ll be able to regain the connection that I previously had.’

My mind became clear from that moment.

I knew what I had to do, and I wanted to immediately start.

But—

“Here.”

A pastry suddenly hovered before my very eyes.

A soft voice followed.

“Eat it.”