Advent of the Three Calamities - Chapter 832: Rating Food [2]

Chapter 832: Rating Food [2]

“…Eat it.”

The young Evelyn shoved the food in front of my face.

The pastry pressed against my cheek, staining it with a little bit of cream.

“Eat it!”

I could tell that she was starting to get annoyed, and so, with a little bit of reluctance, I grabbed onto the pastry and took a small bite of it.

’Fucking sweet.’

I wasn’t very good with food.

By now, I was already aware of the reason. The switch in my body between me and Julien had made it so that I needed food to be bland and sweets to be too sweet.

’No, I was never good at dealing with sweets to begin with.’

Now, or the past.

I wasn’t much of a sweets guy

Hence…

“How is it?”

“…..”

“Good?”

“…..”

“Tell me.”

“…..”

“Jul—”

Gulp!

I finally swallowed the food before doing a thumbs up.

“G… good.”

“…..”

Although Evelyn was young, she could still see through my lies as she started glaring at me. I could only force another bit.

But—

“Pfttt!”

I ended up spitting it all over her.

“…..”

The small Evelyn looked at me in shock, her eyes wide.

I knew in that moment that I had messed up.

’Fuck…”

“Sniff. Sniff.”

Hearing her stifled whimpers, I inwardly groaned.

“You, you…”

“…I don’t like it.”

I eventually spoke honestly, taking out another pastry and handing it over to Evelyn.

“You try.”

“No—Hmm!”

Evelyn tried to slap my hand away, but I ignored it and shoved the food down her throat.

“Eat it. Tell me how it is.”

“….!!”

Evelyn’s eyes remained wide, but the moment her tongue registered the food, her face started to relax as she bit down on it, her eyes furrowing for a moment before she gently slapped my hand away and savored the flavor slowly.

“…It’s good.”

She eventually muttered, taking a napkin to clean up her mouth.

“Not too sweet, but good.”

She looked to be giving genuine criticism.

“Is that all?”

However, I wasn’t particularly interested. I was more interested in the white film that was covering her body. I could tell that it wouldn’t be long until it faded, and I wanted to spend as much time as possible trying to understand it.

“Eh…? There should be more?”

“Of course.”

I carelessly answered, narrowing my eyes while trying to focus my attention on the power.

“You’re not giving me enough description. You say it’s not too sweet, but what about the texture? What about the other flavors? What’s so good about this pastry? I’m not going to try it unless you give me proper details.”

No, really…

The amount of bullshit that was coming out of my mouth was enough to make me speechless.

But it worked.

Evelyn’s brows furrowed tightly as she leaned back against the chair, her small hand tucking at her chin as she started to ponder deeply over my questions.

“Texture? Not enough detail…? Sweetness?”

Her eyes started to swirl as she struggled to understand where I was getting at, but I left her alone and closed my eyes instead.

“I’ll wait for you to give me a proper answer.”

My vision turned dark.

Within that darkness, I focused my entire attention on the murky white power that I’d managed to witness.

’Although faint, I’ve already felt a connection with the Source. What is left for me is to establish a direct connection with it in order to utilize its powers. But…’

I grew a little hesitant.

I knew that the moment I fully created a connection with the Source, the eyes of the Outer Beings would turn on me. I had managed to pass without any issues because I wasn’t strong enough to warrant any attention, and my lack of connection with the Source.

But the moment I created that connection, it would mean getting their attention.

’Does this mean that I have to hide my thoughts? Do I have to create an entirely different persona like the other Gods?’

The thought made me hesitant.

Suddenly, I thought about all of the times I had participated in plays, and inwardly laughed.

Perhaps, there was more to it than I had initially thought.

’This might not be the case. I guess I’ll have to figure it out as I connect with the Source. That should be my greatest concern at the moment. I don’t know how much time I have left, and if I go back to the ’present’ Evelyn, then I’m sure I’m just going to die.’

This was a race against time, and I was already wasting too much time.

“Hoo.”

I let out a low exhale, drowning out all the noise around me.

Thankfully, Evelyn was still busy thinking about everything I had said to her as I immersed myself deeper in my thoughts, trying to focus on the sensation I had felt in the past.

’Source… Source… Source…’

I had felt the Source in the past, but never developed any further than that.

It wasn’t because I didn’t want to, but because I had no idea how to do so. Thankfully, my past self had given me a pretty good hint as I tried to sense the murky power emanating from Evelyn’s body and trace its origin.

This step wasn’t hard, but what came next was as long, thin white line appeared in my vision.

It stretched all the way up, and I slowly guided my thoughts in the direction of the line.

’Calm. Remain calm.’

The sensation I experienced while doing this was unusual.

My head felt light, almost as if I was floating, as the ’power’ started to thin with each passing second. And yet, it almost felt as though there was no end to this long line as I followed with my best of my abilities.

The more I climbed, the more lightheaded I became.

It was almost as if my entire body was starting to stretch… No, disintegrate as the surroundings shifted, the darkness felt different as I climbed higher and faster.

’Calm. Remain calm.’

I had to remind myself over and over again to remain calm, feeling stretches where panic began rising deep within my body. In such times, I knew I had to shut down all my emotions, as my mind felt increasingly uncomfortable.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I still remained stubborn.

There was no other way for me.

This was something that I had to do.

And thus, clenching my teeth, I continued to follow the line as it thinned before my very mind. I could feel its presence growing thinner, and for a moment, the panic that I had managed to quell inside of my mind started to return.

’No, not yet! Just a little more…!’

I could feel that I was getting closer and closer to the Source.

I just needed a little more time.

A little bit more—

Ba… Thump!

A loud ’thump’ suddenly echoed in the darkness.

It stopped me dead in my tracks.

Ba… Thump! Ba… Thump!

The beat continued; this time, it was stronger than before.

I could feel the surroundings starting to change, a sense of oppression pressing down on my mind as the space around me started to pulse.

I started to feel small within the darkness around me, the space trembling further as something appeared to be trying to lock onto me. Seeing this, I knew that I couldn’t remain standing still as I snapped out of whatever state I was in and continued to follow the thin white line that was thinning by the second.

Although I saw no end to it, I could tell that I was getting closer to the ’Source’.

But the closer I came to the Source, the greater the ’pulse’ became.

BA… THUMP!

The sound grew heavier, echoing somewhere deep within the darkness. Each beat rippled through the void, twisting the thin white line before me. It wavered. Shivered. For a moment, I thought it would break.

Then came the whispers.

They didn’t come from above or below. They came from everywhere. From inside my head. From the darkness. From the white line itself.

“■■■■■■■”

“■■■■■■■”

“■■■■■■■”

Their voices crawled beneath my skin.

My thoughts started to blur, my breathing turning ragged as I tried to hold on to the thread in front of me.

’It’s them…’

They… had noticed me.

My presence.

And the moment I realized that, the space around me started to twist. I could feel them… in all sorts of sizes, invisible beings that existed beyond the edge of perception.

The surroundings squeezed my mind, feeling as though it was being pressed tightly by a hand.

The thin line flickered again, shrinking beneath their presence.

My mind began to strain. Every time I tried to focus, the whispers pressed harder, digging into me.

“…■■■■■■■”

“■■■■■■■”

Whatever words came out of their mouth, I couldn’t understand them.

No…

It was more like my mind wasn’t capable of comprehending them as it squirmed with each ’noise’ that I heard as they pushed against my thoughts, bending them, trying to overwrite them.

For a second, I forgot who I was.

I forgot why I was climbing.

But it wasn’t for long.

I was quick to snap out of it.

My mind wasn’t weak. This much… was something that I could handle as I continued to press on. The thin white line pulsed faintly under my will. I could feel my consciousness stretching thin… like I was melting into the dark.

My body, my thoughts, even my sense of self began to blur. But I didn’t stop.

The more I climbed, the more the pressure was. The air itself seemed to harden. Every pulse echoed through the void, steadily pressing against me from all directions.

But soon—

I saw it.

“…..”

The subtle white mist in the distance as the line flickered faintly.

I could barely see it through the haze, but I knew it was there.

The Source.

The space around me shuddered. Shapes began to move in the distance… shadows without form, bending reality wherever they passed. I couldn’t see them clearly, but I could feel them.

They were all watching me.

“…..!”

The line trembled violently.

The moment I reached for it again, something invisible grabbed hold of me. My mind was pulled down, swallowed by static and noise. The whispers turned into screams, the kind that I could make out with my mind as they shrieked loudly.

’Akh!’

I fought back, pushing every bit of my will forward. I used my Emotive Magic, calming my mind constantly as I continued to climb.

This was the hardest part.

I needed to get in touch with the Source and establish a connection.

The moment I did, I could use its powers.

Drip! Drip!

I could feel blood running from my nose, even though I wasn’t sure if I still had a body to begin with.

’Just a little more…!’

The darkness cracked.

Light spilled through the cracks, flooding my vision. The screams in my mind grew louder, pressing from all directions, but I ignored them.

I continued to climb.

Nothing could stop me. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.

The white light washed over everything, searing my mind with a brilliance that felt both divine and unbearable.

And then I saw it.

A sphere of pure white, suspended in the center of the collapsing void.

It didn’t glow. It didn’t shine. It simply was there...

A presence that erased everything around it.

The Outer Beings began to move. The pressure crushed down on me, tearing through every defense I had left.

But… I could also tell that this was their limit.

They couldn’t stop me even if they wanted me to.

Something was preventing them from doing so.

And soon—

I reached for the Source.

My fingers flickered, dissolving into light as they neared the sphere.

“■■■■■■■”

“■■■■■■■”

“■■■■■■■”

The voices crashed over me again, but I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

’…Almost!’

I reached forward, the last of my strength burning away. But soon… My fingers brushed against the surface of the sphere.

At that moment, the world froze.

Sound vanished. The darkness vanished. Even my thoughts vanished.

Only light remained—

One that blinded me entirely.

And from somewhere within that light, a small voice echoed.

“…Eat it.”

Evelyn’s voice.

When I raised my head, a small pastry appeared before me, a little hand pushing it towards my mouth.

“The texture is soft, but not too chewy, which is good because it doesn’t get stuck in your teeth. The cream isn’t too sweet, but it has a really nice taste that makes the whole pastry feel fancy. I think it’s balanced… like something you eat at an important place.”

She nodded several times, looking satisfied.

“Six out of ten.”

Her small voice pulling me out of my daze.

“This is my rating.”