Chapter: 32 'Caged up inside?'

But for now. He was simply annoyed.

…

…

…

Aurora, who had been watching from the sidelines. Her mouth hung wide open, stared in disbelief.

One moment Asher was across the room, the next he was a blur of motion, barely dodging Scarlett's attack.

She hadn't even seen him move, yet Asher had disappeared, and next he was in front of her Mamma.

Was Aurora jealous? Not a bit! Why would she be? She was proud of her brother. But she felt fear of being left behind.

Asher came up on one knee, gasping for breath. But he looked at Scarlett, who seemed to have broken down. No, not broken down.

She stood a few paces away, her breathing steady, her posture strong. Not a single hair out of place as she hadn't fought a single second.

Scarlett observed his expression.

The expected spark of defiance, someone who wants to surpass others, the conviction to be someone strong, the thrill of the fight, all of that was absent from his expression.

Instead, a deep furrow etched itself between his brows, a flicker of something akin to… disappointment? The unexpected emotion sent a jolt through her.

'Disappointed? No, not disappointed. Frustrated. He should be hungry for more, for the power he could wield.' A hint of concern flickered in her eyes, warring with the determination etched on her face.

"Pointless?" she finally managed, her voice hoarse with a mixture of exertion and something else, something she couldn't quite name.

"Pointless? You attacked me, those attacks were unpredictable and raw! You fought like a… a feral beast! You have talent to fight, to dominate, Ash~ Ash~ Ash~ you are amazing." She couldn't help but praise him. Just a few moves, in which his reaction, his attack, those didn't match someone who never fought before in his life.

He was raw, unpredictable, a perfect reflection of the potential she'd always known he possessed.

"That was outstanding! We need more spars, isn't this just the first time, take a step by step, experience isn't running anywhere." she whispered, Asher managed to react to her, and dodged while also attacking for the next moment.

Asher barely reacted. He simply raised his head, those amethyst eyes locking onto hers.

He needs time to fight with her. Maybe training isn't working for him. But it will…

For a moment, Scarlett saw a bottomless well of emptiness staring back – an emptiness that both terrified and fascinated her.

'Did I push him too far? But he has such potential... I can't let him waste it.' Scarlett questioned herself.

"Isn't that what you wanted, mom?" he asked, his voice soft. "Caged in this mansion, to see if I had the strength, the… instinct… but what are you training me for? It's not helping me at all!"

For a moment she was stunned. The words hit Scarlett like a physical blow.

The passion, the obsessive drive to mold him into the perfect weapon, all of it came crashing down on her.

For a moment, she couldn't speak, couldn't understand him. The son, she'd been nurturing with the lost, almost vulnerable boy before her.

"Asher… " she began, her voice cracking with a mixture of guilt and a desperate need to regain control. "That's not… that's not all I want for you. It's still not working… then we can do more…"

"just a little more time… maybe it will work! Didn't we talk about it? Just two months!" But the spark had faded from Asher's eyes once again.

She was simply holding him back. He reconsidered as if he made the right choice to be with her or not?

He turned away from her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. The fight, the raw display of power, hadn't brought him the satisfaction she'd anticipated.

Instead, it had only revealed a deeper emptiness, a hollowness of boredom.

"Maybe not," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "But for now… it's all I have. Time to waste and pass… two months…"

The quiet despair in his voice sent a pang through Scarlett's heart.

She longed to reach out, to comfort him, tell him she wanted the best for him, not this but… but… she wants… just best for him…

Aurora wouldn't be able to contain herself. As soon as the fight stops, she'd be a blur of motion, launching herself at Asher in a hug.

"Asher, Ash! Ash! You were amazing! Did you see how fast you were dodging Mamma? You were like a whirlwind! Going woosh! Swoosh!" Rushing to Asher's side, practically bouncing with excitement, Aurora exclaims, squeezing him tightly, bouncing slightly with barely contained excitement.

He gave her a light smile.

"See, Mamma? I told you Ash was strong! Did you see how fast he moved?" Her eyes wide with admiration.

A humourless smile played on Asher's lips as he clenched his fist. Suppression wasn't enough, as expected.

The truth was, The gap between their stats was a vast canyon, and skills or techniques could only bridge so much. But that's all.

Scarlett may have suppressed her stats, but her superior body control and high Agility stats allowed her to perceive the fight in a slowed-down state.

Every twitch of Asher's muscle, every shift in weight, his intentions before he even acted, all of that was clear as a paper sheet.

The little spar they had done, throwing jabs at each other, was like a child playing with a blunted sword against a master swordsman. Which really was.

His initial burst of speed, a raw movement, might have fooled a novice, but for Scarlett, it was a fly buzzing at a window.

'2 months… meh!' Asher scoffed...

***

Some of you may be wondering why he was disappointed, it's already stated, still, let me clarify you again.

I don't want to write this in a chapter of not for plot conveniences but Asher is an experienced fighter/killer. He can fight toe to toe with Scarlett, because {Eternal heroes} is a hyper Realistic game and with his skill, he knows the basics of what characters are capable of.

And against Asher he couldn't do that, cause they are different frequencies/material at that moment, they couldn't reciprocate with each other. Scarlett lowered her frequency the same to the Asher but a lot of elements in it don't.

He wanted to go wild, but just the first deflection shows it's also useless. He knew from the beginning, it's impossible to defeat her.

...

From tomorrow, there might be change in writing style cause if writing after so long...