Chapter 1202: Blissful Illusion
Merene turned to the white-robed Adam, the fearful look on her face replaced by a mask of indifference. Then, her lips parted and she coldly said:
“Shut up.”
The moment those words echoed in the circular chamber, Adam’s body trembled. In that moment, his world shattered. His perception of reality crumbled away in an instant.
The fire burning in the center of the room threw long, shifting shadows against the walls. They twisted and writhed with every flicker of the flames, stretching into strange, distorted shapes that seemed almost alive.
The constant movement of the shadows made them unsettling, an ominous reminder of the things of the dark lurking just beyond the edge of sight. Or perhaps these dangers were just an illusion of the mind…
Sometimes there were four shadows, other times there were none. Sometimes there were two, other times there was but one.
Merene’s cold voice continued to echo inside the chamber, pressing an unbearable weight on Adam’s fragile, broken mind.
He turned to the elf, his jaw wide from utter disbelief. For a long time, he didn’t even know what to say. To be precise, he couldn’t even form a proper, coherent thought.
The Laughing God continued to whisper, and Adam continued to listen.
The ravings of the Faceless Mask drowned his shattered mind as his lips slowly curled into a wide, unnatural grin that twisted his charred face into a horrific imitation of what a face should have looked like.
At last, he murmured, “Wa-wait a minute. You… you can see him?”
Merene turned to him, her indifferent expression giving way to a conflicted look. Her emerald eyes gleamed with complex emotions. It seemed that there was a lot she wanted to say, but in the end, no words escaped her lips.
But then… she smiled. She raised her head and glanced at the twin moons in the starlit sky.
“It’s almost midnight,” she said. “We should rest if we want to be up early tomorrow. You sleep first, I’ll keep first watch. What do you think?”
Adam stumbled on his feet, putting distance between Merene. He pointed his trembling finger at her and mumbled incoherent words:
“No, no, no… you… what… you can see… no, what is happening? Who… who are you?”
Merene deeply looked at him and displayed a warm and gentle smile. Then, she said in an even voice:
“I am you.”
Adam collapsed to his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably. He clutched at his head so viciously that his finger almost dug inside his skull. He hoped the pain would bring a semblance of sanity to his broken mind, but it didn’t. Instead, he felt the urge to laugh.
And so…
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
The echoes of his crazed laughter reverberated through the room, spilling outside into the night and drawing the attention of powerful beasts. But Adam didn’t care. He didn’t care at all. He simply laughed.
When Merene saw the state he was in, and his gradual—and eventual—descent into madness, she couldn’t help but frown. She deeply looked at Adam, her eyes flashing with concern.
Then, she cast her gaze towards the white-robed Adam, who was leaning against the wall with arms crossed and casually observing the turn of events.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Merene snapped. “Aren’t you going to help? Do something!”
The white-robed Adam glanced at her, a carefree smile on his face. “There’s nothing you or I can do.”
“This is all your fault!” Merene screamed in frustration, the frown on her face deepening with every passing second. “If you hadn’t placed a seed of doubt in his mind, he would have never questioned me! He would have never suspected me!”
“Heh,” The white-robed Adam scoffed, his dark eyes flickering with amusement. “I placed a seed of doubt? That’s rich, coming from you.”
Merene’s eyes narrowed. “What are you insinuating?”
The nonchalant smile on the white-robed Adam’s face vanished. His face was now colder than the deepest pits of hell. He looked toward Mererne and said, his voice dripping with indifference:
“You are the embodiment of his longing for companionship in a life marked by isolation and madness. You were born from the yearning for connection, you represent the warmth he was denied and the bond he secretly craved.”
Every word the white-robed Adam said thundered in Merene’s ears. And with every word he spoke, he took a step closer to the elf. One step, two steps, he slowly marched forward.
His words turned sharp, and his tone became colder as he continued:
“I allowed you to exist because I believed you might bring a sense of warmth and joy to his life. And for a time, you did. But the cost was too great… I suppose that even rationale and logic can sometimes make mistakes.”
Merene’s eyes flashed with apprehension as she backed away, until… there was no more space behind her. With her back pressed against the wall, she looked up to see the white-robed Adam looming over her.
“It was my fault to allow you to exist for so many months,” said the white-robed Adam. “I see it now that your very presence is a danger to him—to us. The more he indulged in your company, the more he risked losing himself.
“With you, Merene, he would have chosen to stay in a blissful illusion, forgetting his purpose here on this island, but more importantly, his grand pursuit of the pinnacle of magic. He would have traded destiny for comfort, purpose for peace, and lived out his days in ignorance. Happy… but never whole.”
The white-robed Adam stretched out his hand, then gently placed it on the elf’s head, much to the latter’s shock and horror.
“That is why, Merene,” the white-robed Adam whispered as he leaned closer. “You must cease to exist, for you… are a nuisance.”
A soft gust of wind swept through the room, causing the fire to sway gently. And then… Merene was gone. Adam’s mad laughter still echoed through the crumbling walls.
The white-robed Adam turned to him and sighed. His lips curled into a faint smile, and he whispered:
“Don’t worry, old sport. Everything’s going to be alright…”