Chapter 90: Being Filled In (3)

Chapter 90

"Eh.... Why the hell do I need to evolve this bastard? Do you know the kind of Nightmare it conjured for me? I’d rather die than allow it to grow stronger."

"...."

"And that’s the point. You will die if you don’t allow it to evolve," Mia countered calmly.

Asher blinked.

"Huh?"

"Yup. Check your Interface. You can see the ’Synchronization’ tab, yeah?"

Asher pulled up his Interface with a frown on his face.

"Yeah? It’s at five percent."

Mia clicked her tongue.

"After your Nightmare, your Eidolon bonded with you and, in the process, lost the majority of its strength and is starting afresh with you. It doesn’t mean that it’s totally lost, though.

"It just means all its power can’t be dumped into you at once. Otherwise, you will die. So it’s gonna come slowly and steadily."

Asher rubbed his head.

"I don’t understand."

Mia sighed heavily.

"Take, for instance, at five percent, your Eidolon can only transform into a knife and damage a Shadow. Now, at a much stronger percentage, the knife could grow into something more and grant you an ability to help you take down Shadow creatures easily.

"And the more the Synchronization tab increases, the stronger you become. So it’s not only your Eidolon that grows stronger, your body does too. Didn’t you feel it when you were fighting?"

Asher took a brief pause to think about it.

He had also been wondering why he was suddenly a tad bit faster and lighter than before.

So that was why?

Mia took a huge puff of her cigarette, the smoke slowly curling around her face before drifting toward the ceiling.

"Honestly, I can’t talk much about the whole mechanics of the Eidolons and Daywalkers. All you should know about us is that we hunt Shadow creatures and keep the city safe."

Mia paused at the last sentence.

"Well, the whole world now."

Asher lifted a brow at her last sentence.

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Mia groaned inwardly as her hands curled into fists almost immediately.

Her teeth began grinding back and forth while Asher could do nothing but keep looking at her, patiently awaiting her answer.

Finally, she exhaled.

"In the light of Daywalkers awakening, the first and strongest Daywalker created an association; the Daywalker’s Association, where order was restored amongst us.

"We were tasked with keeping Vespers safe in a way that we wouldn’t be announced to the people that lived here."

"Huh? Why?" Asher questioned with a raised brow.

Mia frowned at him immediately.

"Think about it. We are trying our hardest to fight against the Nightmare and keep the people away from it, and that was why the anti-sleep pills were invented by us.

"Now, if people learnt that if you were able to survive a Nightmare and, if you do, you grow stronger; what do you think would happen?"

It was clear that the question was rhetorical and that he was meant to answer it himself.

So Asher thought and thought for a few seconds while Mia kept puffing her cigarette.

Until, finally, the answer hit him like a thunderbolt.

"More people would willingly fall asleep."

The corner of Mia’s lips twitched.

"Exactly. With the promise of power, they would fall asleep thinking they would wake up stronger. But what they will fail to realize is that if they fail, they would become a Shadow creature. And if dozens, if not hundreds, of people sleep at once, then?"

Asher’s gaze sharpened.

".... If they failed, it would mean hundreds of Shadow creatures would spawn at once."

Mia nodded.

"You have a good head on your shoulders. I like."

She smiled, took another puff of her cigarette, and continued:

".... That’s why we had to keep our identities secret and work from the shadows so no humans would be able to know about our existence. Which is why, as painful as it is, I couldn’t do anything to save your family. I’m sorry."

Asher’s eyes flashed with a hint of emotion, but he didn’t let it show on his face as he listened on.

Mia sighed deeply and continued.

"But all these would have been okay until three years ago, when the same Shadow God made an announcement in our minds."

Asher’s head shot upward, his gaze sharpening the moment he heard that name.

"Wh-What did he say?"

Mia rubbed her tired eyes and tried her best to imitate the words spoken that day.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Vespers; thank you for your cooperation in helping me develop my experiment and perfect it properly. Now, the finished products will be unveiled."

Mia paused, as if trying to recall some details before continuing.

".... And will you look at that. More cities can now join us in this game. Good luck, you all!"

"...."

"Mo-more cities?" Asher stuttered.

Mia nodded.

"Yes. So far, four cities have been infected with the Nightmare Curse, and we suspect that a fifth will join the queue soon. And that was just two years after the announcement. So you see; a lot has happened in your absence."

Mia exhaled a tired sigh.

".... With the sudden overrun of more Shadow creatures, the Association’s hands were now incredibly full, and the Daywalkers are spread thin. So far, we haven’t had a new Daywalker join us yet, as the cities have been recording failures after failures."

’That will explain why she looks so tired and worn out.’

And then, she immediately turned to face Asher with expectation in her eyes.

Asher noticed.

"Whatever you want to say; I’m not interested," he uttered, and then rose sharply to his feet.

"Look; I thank you for everything you must have done for me this past five years, but I’m sorry. I can’t join your silly Association."

"But why?" Mia asked as she stood up too.

Asher frowned at her.

"Do you think I ever wanted to become a Daywalker? I’m one because of a mistake, and now that I am, I have resolved to do one thing and only one thing."

"Take over the world?" Mia questioned with a frown on her face.

"Revenge. I’m after the Shadow God’s head for all he has done. My family was innocent and loving, yet it took them from me? Nah... I will grow stronger, alright? I will take on Shadow creatures as much as I can, but I won’t join your Association. Otherwise, I would be restricted."

He paused and turned around.

"I want to work solo."

And with that, Asher could be seen walking away.

Mia thought desperately before hurriedly calling out to him.

"What if I say that we can get you your revenge on the Shadow God?"

Asher didn’t pause and just kept on moving.

He had learned a lot to recognize desperation when he heard it.

Mia squeezed her hands tightly and shouted.

"The leader.... The leader of the Association has fought one of the Shadow God’s strongest Shadows before. And if anybody has any information on the Shadow God, it would definitely be him. So if you join the Ass—"

"—I accept."

Asher declared the moment he heard the woman’s hurried words, finally coming to a complete stop.

A way to the creator of his problems?

He would be stupid to pass this offer up.

Even if he went solo, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to get to the Shadow God for his revenge.

Mia blinked a few times, confused, as if she wasn’t hearing him properly.

"Huh?"

Fully turning around, Asher folded his arms across his chest and grinned.

"Your leader has what I need, yeah?"

Mia nodded, still stunned.

"Then let’s get me registered as an official Daywalker in your Association. My revenge won’t complete itself now, will it?"

He tilted his head with a confident stance and posture.