006: Asol I

My body jolted awake.

Darkness surrounded me from all sides.

Am I…

Dead?

Just like that.

Well, so be it.

All good things come to an end eventually, right?

So…

I don't get it?

Why am I so anxious?

I'm dead now, there's nothing to worry about, right?

I died saving someone, just like I always wanted to.

So why do I feel like I still have more I need to do?

What contract did I sign by taking the hand in the dream?

I don't understand why I feel this way.

I never got to live a peaceful life.

I had to deal with Zephyros always pressuring me to be active, my sister always ridiculing me, and my parents always thrusting the company's work on me.

And now, I can't even die in peace.

*sigh*

What am I missing?

"SO THE LITTLE BOY COMES TO ME AGAIN?!"

A deep voice boomed through the dark corridor.

This voice, I've heard it before.

A voice echoing through the darkness, just like my…

"TELL ME KID,"

I slowly turned around to face him.

"ARE YOU DISSATISFIED?!"

Just like my dream.

Massive red eyes that provided light to the dark corridor stood right in front of my face.

The energy flickered like flames, and the intensity was almost enough to singe my eyebrows.

"Why would I be dissatisfied? I died protecting people, just like I've always wanted."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

His laugh caused my bones to quiver.

"WHAT A FOOLISH BOY YOU ARE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING, NOT EVEN YOUR OWN FEELINGS!"

My hair stood on end.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"IT MEANS YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"

"You don't know me."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

My heart raced.

"I DON'T KNOW YOU?! I? ME? I DON'T KNOW YOU?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Who are you to judge me, I don't know you and you don't know me."

"I DON'T KNOW YOU?! THAT'S RICH!"

The quality of his voice changed.

He got serious.

"I'VE BEEN STUCK IN THIS WORTHLESS BODY EVER SINCE THE MOMENT YOU WERE BORN, NO, EVEN BEFORE THAT, WHEN YOU WERE STILL IN YOUR MOTHER'S WOMB!"

"That can't be true, I don't even know your name."

The eyes grew closer and closer, they gave me no room to breathe.

"OH, YOU KNOW MY NAME, I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT IF YOU LOOK DEEP ENOUGH, THEN YOU'LL FIND MY NAME!"

Left with no other option, and filled with absolute terror, I scanned my brain as hard as I could.

The name came to mind easier than I thought it would.

I thought I would have had to search for ages, but it wasn't like that.

His name was locked in a permanent spot in my brain, as if he was always there in my mind.

"Asol."

"SEE, YOU DO KNOW ME, NOW DON'T EVER BOTHER TO SAY THAT NAME AGAIN! I FEEL DISGRACED HEARING IT COME OUT OF YOUR PATHETIC LIPS!"

My breath became strained, and I began to hyperventilate.

"What do you want with me?"

"I DON'T WANT ANYTHING WITH YOU! IN FACT, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAME TO ME!"

"I had no intention of coming here."

"OH, I KNOW THAT, BUT I MUST SAY, WHEN YOU JUMPED OFF THAT CLIFF, I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT! THE EXCITEMENT SIMPLY RADIATED OFF ME!"

My heart was pounding out of my chest.

Only one thing was running through my head.

RUN AWAY!

GET OUT OF HERE, IMMEDIATELY!

"WELL THEN, SINCE YOU'RE HERE, I MIGHT AS WELL OFFER YOU A DEAL!"

"What lucid man would make a deal with a demon like you?"

"ANY MAN DESPERATE ENOUGH TO DO SO, AND I WOULD SAY YOU'RE IN THAT SITUATION RIGHT NOW!"

"No. I will never need your help."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT ME!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I KNOW YOU BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE, I KNOW YOU EVEN BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YOURSELF! PEOPLE PRAISE YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE, BUT YOU ALWAYS DENY THE PRAISE, WHY?!"

"Because whenever I'm 'courageous' I don't do it because I want to. It just kind of happens, almost like some force pushes me forward…no."

"YES! THAT FORCE THAT PUSHES YOU FORWARD IS ME! I AM YOU, AND YOU ARE ME!"

"I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"YOU CAN SAY THAT ALL YOU WANT, BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU AND I ARE EERILY SIMILAR!"

"Don't you dare drag my name through the mud to compare it to yours."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ACTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY, AND FOR WHAT? YOU ARE PATHETIC TRASH THAT IS LOOKING FOR ANY REASON THEY CAN POSSIBLY FIND THAT WILL BE WORTH WAKING UP IN THE MORNING FOR! SUCH TRASH SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ADDRESSING ME DIRECTLY, YOU'RE LUCKY I'M FEELING MERCIFUL TODAY!"

My hands shook.

"YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE SOME KIND OF HERO, UNABLE TO ACCEPT THAT YOU COULD NEVER POSSIBLY HELP ANYONE WITH YOUR FLAWED IDEOLOGY!"

"Flawed? How so?"

"YOU BELIEVE A HERO IS SOMEONE WHO SAVES OTHERS FROM PERILOUS SCENARIOS, BUT THAT COULDN'T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! IF I WAS GETTING BULLIED AND YOU SAVED ME FROM THE BULLIES ONE TIME, WOULD THE BULLYING STOP!"

"Well, probably not."

"EXACTLY! A HERO IS SOMEONE WHO CHASES DOWN THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM AND ELIMINATES IT NO MATTER THE COST!"

"You're wrong, there is always a line that shouldn't be crossed. By following your definition then I would have to become a villain to stop another villain. That is not what it means to be a hero."

"YOU'RE CORRECT, BUT NOT REALISTIC!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"THAT HEROES SIMPLY DO NOT EXIST IN REAL LIFE!"

"What would you know? You're not even alive in reality."

"YOUR EYES AREN'T THE FIRST EYES I'VE WATCHED THE WORLD THROUGH! DON'T THINK YOU'RE SO SPECIAL!"

"My eyes? I don't get it."

"IT'S SIMPLE REALLY, I AM AN ANCIENT EVIL THAT HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE BEFORE THE UNIVERSE ITSELF WAS CREATED! I HAVE BEEN PASSED FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN THROUGHOUT GENERATIONS, AND NOW I REST WITH YOU! ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY, YOU ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS, FOR THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE SPOKEN TO SOMEONE DIRECTLY!"

"So what is it you want from me?"

"I WANT YOUR BODY!"

"My body? What do you plan to do with it?"

"THAT IS NOT OF YOUR CONCERN!"

"If I don't know your intentions then there is no way I'll give you my body."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AND WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME FROM TAKING IT?! I AM AN ANCIENT, UNSTOPPABLE EVIL, WHAT DOES A MERE HUMAN BOY EXPECT TO DO TO ME?!"

…

I don't know.

What can I possibly do to him?

He's way too strong.

I can't keep up.

I'd be obliterated in mere moments.

"SEE?! YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY STAND UP TO ME!"

"It's not a matter of if I can stand up to you, I simply must, that is all."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOUR LEGS ARE QUIVERING WITH FEAR! YOU DO NOT STAND A CHANCE!"

"Maybe, but who will know if I do not try."

"I AM AN ANCIENT EVIL CAPABLE OF DESTROYING THE UNIVERSE, AND YOU EXPECT TO LAST MORE THAT A QUARTER OF A SECOND?! DON'T MOCK ME!"

"Your ego will be your downfall, no one is capable of destroying the universe."

"OH?! YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME?! THEN SIT BACK AND WATCH! I'LL DESTROY THE UNIVERSE ONCE I TAKE OVER YOUR BODY!"

"Even if you take over my body, it wouldn't help anyway. I've kicked the bucket, my heart no longer pumps blood through my veins. My body is cold. I'm dead."

My heart pounded in my chest.

My mind was hardly managing to focus on anything other than fear.

"YOU'RE NOT DEAD! I MADE SURE OF THAT!"

"What? That's not possible. I fell to my death, and there is no escaping death."

"DO YOU THINK A BEING CAPABLE OF DESTROYING THE UNIVERSE COULDN'T MANIPULATE DEATH ITSELF?! YOU TRULY ARE UNDERESTIMATING ME!"

Just what is he?

How could he possibly be capable of such feats?

This isn't some fantasy story.

This is reality.

Such a thing could never be true.

Either I'm dreaming, or this is some messed up afterlife.

Am I being tormented?

Is that what this is?

There's no way I can trust anything he says.

"YOU SHOULD BELIEVE ME, I HAVE NO REASON TO LIE!"

"How did you know I didn't trust you?"

"DID YOU FORGET?! I AM A PART OF YOU! I KNOW EVERY THOUGHT THAT GOES THROUGH THAT PUNY HEAD OF YOURS!"

I don't even get any privacy?

What kind of sick joke is all this?

"I'VE DISCOVERED A LOT ABOUT HOW HUMANS FUNCTION THROUGHOUT MY TIME OF SHARING A BODY WITH ONE, BUT I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY HUMANS WOULD ALWAYS DENY SOMETHING SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS TOO COMPLEX FOR THEM TO COMPREHEND!"

"Shut up."

"OH?! FEISTY NOW AREN'T WE?!"

"I'm done with listening to your silly jests. I won't stand for it any longer."

"REALLY?! YOUR LEGS ARE STILL SHAKING! ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN DO THIS?!"

I'm not.

But I don't have a choice in the matter.

"You said a hero is someone who eliminates evil at its source, no matter the methods, then I guess it's time for me to be a hero. Do your worst, Asol."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AS YOU WISH!"