Chapter 97: What are you doing sister?
The ASUV’s wheels screeched as it came to a halt. Maria and Lane sharply turned towards Jaden, who was breathing heavily.
Jaden stared at his palm with a frightened expression. The voice of the dark figure continued to echo in his head. He was familiar with this voice—it was his voice, after all.
His breath hitched, words stopped in his throat as he tried to speak. His body trembled as he remembered the dark figure and its voice. Beads of sweat glistened across his forehead as his hold on the devouring pups tightened.
The pups, which suddenly felt his hold tighten, woke up from their sleep and looked at him with eyes that spoke of worry.
"Bre!"
"Bru!"
However, Jaden could not reply as he fell into his thoughts.
’What was that? How is it possible for that being to have my voice? Was it a clone or an illusion of some sort? But... it was too real, too vivid for it to be a clone. No. No, no, no. It was real, y-yes, it has to be. But... how?’
No matter what he thought, concluded, or guessed, everything led to the same dead end—how?
Maria, still staring at him, called out. Her voice was full of worry.
"Jaden!"
However, he did not reply because of the mental state he was in after meeting the dark being.
Jamie, who had caught on with Jaden’s strange state, also called out.
"Jaden!"
The devouring pups pressed close, barking as if to shake him awake.
"BRE!"
"BRU!"
But nothing proved useful, as no matter how much Jaden tried, he could not calm himself. Each moment felt like a sharp blade hanging over his head, ready to fall and pierce his skull.
Even the [Serene Mind]—the enchantment of [All-Severing Moonlight (Replia)] that helped him stay calm—was unable to help him calm down.
Maria finally heaved a sigh and mumbled.
"Calm."
Just as she spoke, the air within ASUV seemed to still, and everything came to a calm. The devouring pups, Jamie and Jaden... everyone fell calm.
Jaden took a heavy breath, a breath that seemed to fill him with life and looked at Maria with distant eyes. Even after calm returned, the backlash from what had happened remained.
Maria looked into his moon-like, bright blue, unfocused eyes and asked calmly as she tapped at the corner of the control panel.
"Are you feeling well?"
He did not reply and just nodded his head slightly as his unfocused eyes landed on Maria, but his gaze landed on nobody.
Maria glanced at Lane and Jamie, her tone turning serious as she mumbled.
"Let me take care of this."
Lane looked at her and said nothing, turned forward, pressed the green button, and stepped on the accelerator. The ASUV roared back to life and surged forward once more.
Jamie gave a faint nod and turned to look at Jaden, who was slumped in his seat while staring at Maria with confused, distant eyes.
’What happened to him? He was fine just a moment ago...’ He thought as a frown appeared on his face.
Maria, seeing that everything had calmed down, questioned.
"Why were you acting like that?"
Jaden’s unfocused eyes suddenly became focused as he looked at her and muttered in a voice full of dread and fear. "I saw... a dream..."
Everyone raised an eyebrow at his answer. Maria’s expression turned into one of confusion as she asked.
"You saw a dream?"
He nodded.
Her confusion deepened, her lips tightening into a frown.
"How is that possible? Humans do not dream anymore—"
Her words were cut off as his eyes suddenly turned sharp, and he shouted.
"Shut up! I am... I am not lying!"
Maria’s lips pressed into a thin line as her expression turned dark. She held his gaze for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"What did you see in that dream?" she asked softly, even though she did not want to believe that Jaden had a dream; she simply had no other option than to listen for now.
The ASUV fell silent upon her question as Jaden’s eyes turned unfocused once more... At this point, it did not seem to be because of what he had gone through. It was something else, something worse than that.
Maria drew in a slow breath and murmured.
"Answer me, Jaden."
Jaden suddenly felt a pull at his consciousness and at his very seed of existence. He willed himself to answer, or... he was willed by someone to will himself to answer. That someone was, of course, Maria, who had used Will Magic [Answer] on him.
His lips parted on their own as he mumbled in a drunken tone.
"Everything... dark... the land, the sky... everything... but it was darker... scarier..."
His answer, however, was not something anyone could comprehend, as it was simply drunken mumbling. Will Magic had a very heavy impact on both the user and the affected, and the effect also depended on their ranks, which is why Maria did not use it till now. Maria was a Master while Jaden was just an Adept, so the impact was worse for him.
She parted her lips to use the spell once again, but suddenly Jamie’s sharp voice cut off her words.
"What are you doing, sister?"
Maria shifted her gaze towards Jamie, only to find him staring at her with a cold gaze that held a hint of killing intent. His lips parted as he asked in a tone colder than any ice.
"Are you going to continue this? Just to quench your curiosity... just like you did before?"
Maria’s expression hardened, her brows knit together as she shifted her gaze between Jaden and Jamie. Finally, she shook her head and answered darkly.
"I didn’t mean—"
However, Jamie’s cold voice cut her off once again.
"It does not matter if you want to do it or not. You are doing it. Halt your magic... or do you need to wet your hands with my blood once again?"
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Goals
• 100 power stones = extra 1 Chapter.
• 100 golden tickets = extra 1 Chapter.
• 100 collections = extra 1 Chapter.
• Golden Castle = extra 5 Chapters.