Chapter 82: Appraisal (2)

Chapter 82

"...."

The voice....

Though it was frightful and almost sudden, like something one would hear in their worst nightmares, it sounded familiar.

Asher could never forget it.

Twice.

On two damn occasions, he had heard that voice.

The first time was when he had been summoned into this same void.

And the second was when it had spoken through Jayden.

The same voice that had announced itself as the Nightmare ruler of his Nightmare was now his Eidolon?

The same be—creat.... Or whatever it was....

The same thing that had conjured an entire scenario to play with his mind and force him to stay with his fake family was going to be accompanying him from now on?

What was going on?!

"Hm."

The Eidolon uttered calmly.

Asher’s hands curled into fists almost instantly.

His teeth ground against each other as his eyes flickered with a deep, hateful emotion.

"Show. Your. Self."

Asher uttered each word with wrathful anger.

"...."

A pause.

Then came the response.

"Unfortunately, you’re too weak to behold my full form. You don’t have what it takes to behold my sight, so you just have to make do with only my voice."

"....."

"I said.... Show. Your. Self."

"...?!"

Almost immediately, the void began trembling at Asher’s words.

It felt as though an earthquake was about to erupt in the middle of the endless darkness.

"Didn’t I warn you the other time? Mind the way you speak to me, human. I’m not your slave, nor do I work under you—"

"Yet you are bonded to me."

Asher interrupted, tilting his head.

"You are attached to a lowly human like me. Doesn’t that make you my slave now?"

He pierced the void with his wrathful gaze.

Silence descended.

A heavy, oppressive silence that seemed to stretch endlessly throughout the darkness.

Almost instantly, Asher felt his skin crawl.

A breath of wind coursed through his body, causing him to shiver as though he had been dropped in the middle of Antarctica.

Then—

The voice uttered directly behind his ear.

"You are incredibly lucky that Eidolons can kill their bonded partners, else you would have been devoured by me by now."

The voice was cold.

Ancient.

Vengeful.

Like an ancient spirit whispering directly into his soul.

Instantly, the presence vanished from behind Asher.

The boy had already broken out into a cold sweat.

The moment the pressure disappeared, Asher regained his composure with a silent breath of relief.

He had been able to hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears just a moment ago.

But then—

His hands curled into fists again.

His teeth ground back and forth.

"Yo—"

But before he could speak, the voice resounded again.

"And for some reason, even though I hate your guts, I can’t help but be impressed by what you did in the Nightmare."

The voice paused for a moment before adding:

"...Both you and your previously erased versions. That was incredibly smart."

’Huh?’

Asher blinked.

’Wa—Is this bastard praising me?!’

"Though I was the creator of the Nightmare, it did take a whole lot of energy to maintain, else it would break and a few slips here and there would happen."

The voice paused.

"Unlike the others, I don’t have much of this energy to begin with. Hence, my eyes couldn’t be everywhere."

’Others?’

Asher’s hand balled into a fist.

"Which was why I used Jayden as a vessel and used his body to monitor you here and there."

The voice continued, its tone remaining strangely calm.

"That was why I had no idea about that notebook of yours. That was ingenious, I must say."

The voice paused as if reconsidering its words while scanning Asher, who remained suspended in midair within the void.

"And you also burned yourself and your family to ashes?"

The voice almost sounded amused.

"That was both crazy, courageous, required a lot of willpower, and also stupid too."

A brief pause.

"You are really a different breed."

Asher’s brows furrowed immediately.

"They weren’t my family."

His voice was filled with disgust.

"They were Shadow creatures."

His eyes narrowed.

"And that was dirty of you to do. Taking my dead family’s images to play your dirty game?"

Asher clicked his tongue.

"Tsk.... Disgusting."

"...."

"Oi! Don’t hate me. I was simply doing my job. Which is to make you fail the Nightmare and then—"

The sound of a tongue licking lips could be heard through the void.

"...I devour you."

"Huh?"

"You see.... If you had taken the bait, it would show how weak-minded you are. And as soon as you accepted my deal, I would then devour your soul and your Nightmare would be over."

The voice paused.

"But you would be dead, and your body—"

Another pause.

"....Would turn into a Shadow as it should be."

Asher’s face twisted in disgust as he glared straight ahead.

Not like he could see what was speaking to him to begin with.

And he had no way of knowing where the voice was coming from, either, as it kept bouncing all around him from every direction.

"But I have to ask; what gave you the will to burn your family?"

The Eidolon sounded genuinely curious.

"Even though they were Shadow creatures, you literally killed your family. That’s crazy."

The voice paused briefly before continuing.

"But what more do you have to live for, though? You should have let me devour you. Because you are returning back to a real—"

"—Why I did what I did and what for? You have no right to know."

Asher cut the Eidolon off with a venomous growl.

"The same way I can’t behold your real form, you can’t know."

His voice hardened.

"All you should know is that now that I have a semblance of power, I will grow immensely powerful enough to hunt the Shadow God for killing my family."

Asher clenched his fists.

"And I will also punch you in the damn face."

He paused and raised a brow at the endless void.

"—That is if you have one."

His lips curled into a defiant smirk.

"Whenever you show yourself, I will punch you hard in the damn face. I swear on my parents’ grave!"

"....."

Silence.

For several moments, there was nothing.

It was as if the Eidolon was re-evaluating the boy’s words.

The tone.

The promise.

The fervour.

The sheer force behind his declaration.

All of it was intense enough to take the Eidolon aback for a moment.

"Oh, really?"

A faint chuckle echoed through the void.

"Ha! I would love to see you try that."

The voice sounded almost amused now.

"Asher Dawson, you are a real interesting fellow. A real crazy one."

A pause.

"You are the first to bond with me today, and I can’t wait to see what you will achieve."

The voice paused before continuing.

"Also. Not to brag, but I’m one of the most powerful Eidolons alive."

Its voice carried a faint hint of pride.

"Show me that you are worthy enough to wield me."

The void fell silent.

A second passed.

Then another.

The silence stretched just a little too long before the Eidolon finally added in a quiet whisper:

"....This void is the only place you can have a conv—"

"Oi! I would like to return to the real world now."

Asher shouted into the void, gritting his teeth.

"....?!"

The Eidolon fell silent.

[Affirmative.]

"Fool. I wanted to—"

The Eidolon was about to voice out a warning, but at that moment, the mechanical voice spoke again.

[Wake up, Daywalker Asher.]

Then—

The black void suddenly spun.

Everything around Asher twisted into a blur before the endless darkness vanished from view.