Chapter 11: The Parasite

A piercing scream cut through the air—filled with terror and despair. It didn't sound like something a human could produce, more like the shriek of a small, desperate creature at the edge of death.

Astella's head buzzed as if a shrill whistle was being blown right by her eardrum. It took her a while to realize that the scream had come from her own mouth.

Seeing the young man in front of her, "Cohen," with a monocle perched on his nose and a pleasant smile etched on his face, her already strained mind finally gave out. 

Astella crawled toward the unconscious Lena, clutching her as if her life depended on it. One hand reached into her pocket for the second gemstone ring. Instinctively, she was ready to chant the incantation and escape through another "Astral Traverse."

When faced with incomprehensible and insurmountable danger, running was a survival instinct ingrained in human nature.

But she knew it probably wouldn't work. The being before her—who had lived since the Fourth Epoch and somehow "become" Cohen—was clearly a high-sequence powerhouse. He had the ability to move freely outside the tomb and could likely track her through the Astral Plane.

She could gamble on the chance that the creature could only "possess" one person at a time, or that it couldn't stray far from the tomb. Perhaps another "Astral Traverse" could shake him off.

But what if she was wrong? What if, after the next Astral Traverse, she found Lena wearing that same monocle, a chilling smile on her face? Would she have to abandon Lena again, fleeing again and again, until she herself ended up wearing that monocle?

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, forcing herself to calm down.

"You scared me… Lord Amon," she said in the calmest tone she could muster, though her voice still trembled. "Since you're not actually dead, why did you bother building a tomb for yourself?"

With no way to escape, Astella decided to extract as much information as possible. Maybe understanding more about this entity's personality would help her make a better decision later.

Of course, she could also try pleading, crying on her knees for mercy. But Astella doubted that would work. This high-sequence being, who had so casually killed Andrew and Gerald, and taken over Cohen's body in such a terrifying manner, likely wouldn't respond to pity. The more fear she showed, the more enjoyment he would derive from her suffering.

Given these options, Astella chose to maintain as much composure and dignity as she could. Then—she would gamble.

I'm not out of options. There's always the path of death.

Amon pressed a finger to his right eye socket, his voice gleeful. "Obviously, to lure some foolish young explorers into my trap, so I can easily steal their life and identity."

"Deceive… steal…" At these words, Astella's thoughts clicked into place. She suddenly remembered the rumors that the legendary "Blasphemer" family possessed the pathway of the "Thief." And one of the sequences in that pathway was called:

"Sequence 4: Parasite!"

What he said might not be the full truth… If he truly was a Parasite, he must have recently tangled with the Church of the Steam's demigod while exploring the tomb. That would explain why he was so desperate for more life force and identities.

"If that's the case, maybe he can't split off another avatar to 'possess' us. Escaping through the Astral Plane might actually work…

"No, I can't act rashly. There's another possibility…"

She looked up and said, "You don't usually stay in that tomb, do you? You're using someone else's identity to move around, but when you sensed it was being destroyed, you came back to check, right?"

"Oh?" Amon smiled but neither confirmed nor denied her claim.

He seemed quite interested as he studied Astella's expression. "You seem to know a lot about my sequence?"

"I'm just fascinated by the hidden history of the Fourth Epoch," she responded reflexively.

She pretended her caution came from knowing the "Blasphemer" family were all notorious con artists. She bet that this ancient entity had no idea his family had become so obscure, almost erased from history.

"Liar," Amon chuckled, as if hearing something immensely amusing.

"It's true," Astella's voice trembled as she forced a weak smile.

She dared not reveal that her mother was an Abraham, knowing the animosity that likely existed between high-ranking members of the Thief pathway.

What if he smiled and said, "Oh, Abraham? Funny, that's how I died the first time"? She wouldn't even be able to cry.

Amon remained noncommittal. His figure blurred, suddenly appearing on a nearby tree. The demigod sat on a high branch, casually tossing two gleaming objects in his hand, looking utterly relaxed.

Astella's heart sank. She frantically reached into her pocket, only to find that her two teleportation rings were gone.

"Oh dear," Amon teased as he tilted his head and showed off the stolen items. "Look what I found."

"…" Despair washed over Astella as she clutched Lena and closed her eyes.

"If you had teleportation rings, why didn't you try to escape earlier?" Amon asked.

"You possessed my friend's body," she replied, avoiding the word "parasite" to prevent revealing how much she knew about the Thief pathway.

"Oh, so you didn't want to abandon your friend and flee," Amon nodded in understanding. "But when you were in the tomb, why did you run without hesitation? Weren't those two boys your friends as well?"

"…" The question struck at the deepest guilt in Astella's heart. Her breathing grew heavier, and her voice cracked with emotion.

"It's just… my values," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "I'm weak. I'm terrified of death, and my will isn't strong. I couldn't be like Andrew—that boy who charged back to save someone he barely knew, risking his life. But if everyone dies and I'm the only one who survives by running away, I'd feel worse than dying."

She feared living with the weight of others' deaths more than she feared death itself.

"That's an interesting perspective," Amon said, surprisingly intrigued by her honesty.

"If I run, Cohen becomes you, Lena becomes you, and eventually, I become you. I'll die in terror, despair, and guilt for abandoning my friends, without a shred of dignity." Astella continued, "So I'd rather take the chance to talk to you, see if I can move you to spare us. Even if we all die in the end, at least I tried my best and didn't abandon anyone."

"But what if there's a chance I can only possess one person at a time? You could have saved two people, including yourself. Instead, you're risking all of your lives," Amon smiled.

"I know that possibility exists," Astella said. "But my instincts tell me you're not weak—perhaps you're even stronger than Sequence 4.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that frequent body-swapping would be harmful to you, especially if you're in a weakened state. In that case, scaring us into fleeing wouldn't be in your best interest. We'd report you to the church, and then you'd face a demigod's pursuit. If I were you, I'd pretend to still be Cohen until I recovered."

She had acted on pure intuition at the time, with no chance to think things through. But now, as she laid out her reasoning, it started to make more sense.

Yes—if he knew she could escape at any moment, he wouldn't reveal himself unless he was certain he could kill them all. There was no benefit for a Parasite to expose himself unless he had absolute confidence in his strength.

Only someone who was completely sure of their dominance would toy with their prey like this, watching them struggle before finishing them off…

A chill crept up Astella's spine as the terrifying realization dawned on her.

"Well, well, impressive," Amon clapped lightly from his perch in the tree. "Alright, I'll be honest—I don't necessarily have a reason to kill you. Seeing how hard you've tried, I'll give you a chance."

.

"Go ahead, didn't you say you wanted to try to move me?"

He sat among the shadowy branches, arms spread wide, a playful smile on his face. Behind him, a blood-red moon loomed in the sky.

—I'm looking forward to it.