Chapter 38: The Source of Fear

"Too bad this fear isn't mine."

Maybe my body feared the location I was heading to, but I didn't. My mind was free from the dread of what's about to come, making it easy to control my body's uncontrollable reaction.

(I experienced too many things for a simple fear to control me, especially not mine.) My body slowly relaxed, letting all of its accumulated fear disappear.

After returning back to normal, I started to wonder about what happened. (Where am I? Or maybe when am I?)

My previous meeting with young Gaia made me consider a possibility of returning back to the past, but it seemed unlikely for 'Stone Hearted Vine' to posses time traveling abilities.

And with this option crossed out, I thought about another, more probable outcome.

"Wait. It all suddenly makes sense and if that's the case...." I looked up at the sky above and focused on the sun which was the first thing I saw after waking up.

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With a bunch of thoughts running through my mind, I took my time in arriving at the location my body lead me to.

It not only let me sort them out, but also test quite a few things. One of them being my system.

When I called out to it, like I usually do, nothing happened. I got no response whatsoever, it was almost as if the system didn't exist.

(Should I panic, or should I smile?) I didn't panic, as I knew that system won't abandon me out of nowhere. The disappearance of it was something I expected, even before testing it in practise.

Next on my list was magic, which I couldn't find inside me. And it wasn't that I forgot how to cast spells, it was completely gone. My mana core vanished.

"It looks like I'm a defenceless child with no way of protecting myself. What an unfortunate situation to find yourself in." I said it all with a smirk on my face.

I wanted to continue pondering, but no matter how slow I walked, my time finally run out. Before me stood an old and worn out wooden shed.

It had weebs in all of its broken windows, with pieces of broken glass still remaining in some of them.

It was clear at the first sight that this shed was abandoned for years, making me wonder why my body chose this specific place to be my destination.

While it seemed like this place was deprived of human activity, I noticed a peculiar window on the left side of the shed. It was in the best shape so far and had black drapes, something no other window did.

Seeing how different it was made me stare at this window some more, and this is when I noticed one of the drapes being pulled to the side. Revealing a wrinkled hand, which beckoned me to come inside.

I didn't think for long before doing so, as my body trembled at this hand apperance. It was the exact same feeling my body had when it first started heading to this building.

(Let's see what you're so afraid of.) I lightly breathed out air from my mouth, regaining my composure.

Then I walked up to the half-open door with a hole in it and placed my palm on a relatively intact part, prying it open.

I took a gaze inside, noticing a oil lamp standing on a table. It shone on a cloaked figure, sitting on a barely holding itself wooden chair.

With nothing else left to do, I entered the shed and felt how my mouth moved on its own. "I'm back, Father. I fulfilled the task you gave me."

At my words, the figure violently stood up, making the chair he previously sat on fall on the floor.

"What did I tell you about calling me Father?" He screamed at me with his dry and deep voice, before taking a swing at my left cheek.

This blow usually would only hurt, but with my now young body, it created such an impact that I couldn't even react before I fall to the ground, right next to the table.

"Sorry, Sir. It won't happen again." My eyes began watering, as I tried to get up.

(Is that what you were afraid of? Your father?) Inside I was numb to the scene that happened. I didn't share the sorrow my body expressed on the outside. Those were again, not my emotions.

I hardly stood up, despite my body telling me it could have done it much easier. It probably wanted to show how badly it hurt, avoiding any further blows in the process.

"You fulfilled your mission, you say? Was she cute? Mother Earth. Or what was her name, Gaia? *laughs*" This man clearly knew a lot more than I originally thought.

"She...was ni-nice."

(A crush?)

"A crush?" It seemed like the man and I had the same thoughts about the tone that left my mouth.

"What's a crush?"

"It shouldn't bother you. It's a insignificant feeling people take great importance of... *sigh* I don't understand those guys, after all you only need a whore and couple of coins to get everything you want." He spoke his thoughts out loud, not caring if I heard them or not.

"Whore? Who is that?" More questions left my mouth, but it wasn't weird with my young age.

"It's a lucky day for you, Adder. You made me happy by approaching Gaia and gaining the basics her trust. It will make my plan so much easier to accomplish...To show my gratitude, I will gift you a whore and make a real man out of you."

(Really?) Despite my body doing its own thing, I was able to raise my eyebrow.

"She's already in the room. Go there, she will show you what women are desired for and what's their worth is." After saying that, he pointed at the door and then stopped caring about me any longer.

I moved to the place he pointed at and entered another, smaller room with only a bed inside it. Sitting on the bed was a pretty blond woman, who spoke as soon, as I closed the door. "I didn't expect to play with someone so young. I should've charged the old prick more."

After hearing her words and knowing what is supposed to occur in this room, I said in a emotionless tone. "I don't want to participate in this act. Skip it."

"What are you sayi..." The whore got confused by my words, but before she could finish her sentence, darkness covered the room, we were in.

Then the darkness slipped out of the room, leaving no signs of whore existence. Now, there was only I and the bed, she sat on.

"Thank you." Smile returned to me and with it, tone of my voice changed to the happy one.

(I already had enough of not being the one to make decisions.) My improved mood lasted until I heard a knock on the door.

"Are you done? We need to continue with the next stage of my plan."

"I'm indeed done, Sir." I grinned behind the closed door, sure this man won't see my actions.

"Then come out and get ready for the next day of 'playing' with Mother Earth." He said it in a truly sinister way.

"I'm on it, Sir." My body quickly left the room, following this man command. But it only did so after I let it.

After I returned to the bigger room, the cloaked figure was already waiting for me next to the door.

"How was it, Adder?" He was amused by the whole situation.

"Great. When can I do it again? Soon, right?" (Why can't my mouth finally shut up? This whole not me talking is getting on my nerves.)

"When you follow my plan. Gain Gaia's trust and pretend to be her friend."

"I will do that. I promise, Sir."

"If I knew whore was all it took to make you follow my plan so wholeheartedly, I would have done it much sooner." It sounded like he really did considered it as an option.

"Now go. Earn Gaia's trust and earn the bodily pleasure you want so much."

I left the shed, catching the moment when sun rises above the horizon. It once again let me experience nature beauty, which immediately let me think about Gaia.

(It's time to keep my promise about us playing together the next day.) And just like that, I headed to the place we meet yesterday. Hoping to see Gaia happy and ready to continue our fun.