Chapter 24: Assimilating Madness

[May 19th, 4023]

"So, what is it that you want to discuss?" Ying put down his newspaper and looked directly at Derrick.

"I've come to talk to you about a certain operation. I'm hunting down a man named Reed Rowley. He's currently laying low somewhere within Naraka territory under the protection of the Alchemic Order. I need your help in infiltrating the Order and retrieving Rowley." 

Ying nearly choked on his coffee upon hearing the absurd require, "t-the Alchemic Order? Are...are you serious right now? As a Rank 6, you have absolutely no chance of even stepping foot into their domain, let alone beating them."

"That isn't what I meant. I have zero intention of directly confronting the organization right now. In fact, I don't even hold a personal grudge against them. I simply need one of their members."

Derrick took out a purple orb from his coat pocket that was roughly the size of a baseball. Its illusory flames sputtered and moved freely in the wind like a piece of cloth. 

"A Wraith Factor? Did you manage to get something like this so early? You are way too unpredictable." Ying hadn't noticed the smile that appeared on his face. Perhaps it was his pride as a teacher shining through his stern persona. "What rank is it?"

"It's a Rank 6 Wraith Factor. Do you think that's too much?"

"No, it's fine. You've already reached the pinnacle of a Rank 7 Wraith. Consuming the Factor is necessary for the disaster you've put yourself in. The Alchemic Order is strong, maybe too strong for you to handle right now. That's why I've agreed to tag along with you. A kid doesn't deserve to die."

"I won't die. I can't die. Not yet at least."

Derrick placed the Wraith Factor on the table. "How do I use this? Do I...just eat it? Is it like a cultivation novel?"

"I'm not sure what that is, but yeah, you eat it. Consuming a Factor is the fastest method of gaining finer spirituality and raising your power. However, consuming a Factor is tantamount to consuming "madness" itself. If you don't have the willpower to suppress the madness, you will lose your mind to the insane, dominating, and malicious aura of the Factor."

A bead of sweat dripped down Derrick's forehead. The threat of madness was enough to make him hesitate. However, he had long crossed the threshold of normality when he involved himself in The Hole. Moving forward was the only choice given to him. 

He bit into the Wraith Factor immediately, suppressing his innate fear. Ying's disposition instantly transformed into utter shock. Even the general populous knew that assimilating a Factor was close to suicide. "H-Hey! Why did you do that so suddenly?! I didn't even have time to form a barrier!" Ying immediately formed the corresponding hand signs and conjured a barrier roughly 6 feet in width and length. Such a shoddy barrier was able to only partially stave off his madness. 

The purple Spirit Flames he had grown accustomed to were now burning him from the inside out. The damage was not exclusive to his physical body, as his Spirituality became unstable and chaotic upon reacting to the foreign factor. His mind was pervaded with insane ravings and rambles from an infinite distance away. It sputtered suddenly and vanished as soon as it came. His body instantly collapsed as his consciousness left him.

___

Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in a modern apartment room with a light installed on the ceiling. The room was clean with tile floors and a large glass table. In front of Derrick was his favorite meal, beef curry. 

This place…

He looked down at his hands and noticed how soft they were. It wasn't just his hands, but his entire body was small. This was how he looked when he was 8 years old. He's been transported to a familiar scenery from 9 years in the past!

In the two seats direct to Derrick's sides were dolls with the labels "daddy" and "mommy" respectively.

A familiar voice called out to him. "Derrick! What's wrong? You've been zoning out for a while now. You should eat your food."

In front of him was a young man who was around 12 years old. He has a small scar on his right eyebrow that stretches up to the middle of his forehead. His warm smile and long black hair caused an immediate wave of memories to swell up.

"What…what are you doing here?" Despite knowing that this was an illusion, despite knowing that this was a fake apparition brought about by madness, he couldn't help but cry at the sight of his brother.

"You aren't Desmond."

"Huh? What do you mean? You're acting weird."

Desmond reached his hand out to palm Derrick's forehead. "Maybe you have a cold? It was pretty chilly yesterday. Maybe we shouldn't have played outside so late..."

Derrick instinctively slapped his hand away. "If that's your sorry attempt at mimicry, then you've done a pretty patchy job. Desmond's scar is on his left side, not his right."

"…"

Upon hearing those words, the light from Desmond's eyes vanished. His skin began to bubble and expand dramatically, revealing a black and oily exterior. Its body sprouted numerous deformed clones that latched onto Derrick's body, dragging him down into the abyss.

"What's wrong Derrick?"

"What's wrong Derrick?"

"What's wrong Derrick?"

Derrick desperately struggled against the mysterious figure. He pulled the black tentacles off of his body as he uttered the words, "It hurts, I don't wanna die!"

__

In the real world, Derrick tore off his burning flesh in an attempt to escape the pain, but his regeneration was far stronger than his desire to die.

"It...hurts...I don't...wanna die..."

A spark of hope emerged within Ying after hearing those words. "Yes! Keep talking! No matter what, don't allow the Factor to dominate your consciousness!" Ying strengthened the spirituality barrier by counteracting Derrick's Spirit Flames with his own. His nose began to bleed upon coming in contact with the frenzied spirituality, but Ying had hardly noticed. Derrick's assimilation was nearly complete.

In Derrick's mind, he saw a small flickering light at an infinite distance. He gathered the fragmented pieces of his consciousness and moved forward.

"Focus...piece it together...one at a time."

Derrick's flames slowly lost their erratic temper and the harsh murmurs from the false world faded. A soothing sensation replaced the searing pain and tamed his spirituality.

He steadily regained his balance and got up from the floor. Strangely enough, his body felt light, unusually light. It was as though the frenzied flames burned away the impurities in his body and brought his spirituality closer to Godhood.

"How do you feel?" Ying asked in a concerned tone.

Derrick turned to Ying with bright glowing eyes; his hair standing on ends. "This…doesn't feel too bad."

____

In the catacombs of the McLoren estate, Favio McLoren made his way through the maze-like structure in search of the "that" weapon. He had already memorized the layout of the labyrinth's layout, so it took a mere 5 minutes to reach his destination.

A massive door with 5 runic inscriptions stood at the end of the hallway. Beyond the door were maddening howls and screams that could easily paralyze someone with fear. McLoren was used to the sickening sensation. 

As the wails died down, McLoren opened the door with the 5-stage incandescent seal. It was a seal designed by the ancestors of the Solari tribe to suppress the madness of a Factor inheritance. The seal also had the effect of stimulating the spirituality of the subject bound to the restriction through the Chains of Isae. 

A lean, athletic man was slumped against the wall like a rotting corpse, bounded by the vice grip of the Chains of Isae. He had long white hair with eyes devoid of light. "Mmm..." He grumbled in a tired, strained voice. His fingers contorted unnaturally and his body slowly moved like a monster.

"Are you ready, Isalde? We have a very special mission in store for us today." With a snap of his fingers, the Chains of Isae burst into dust comprised of spirituality. Isalde regained his footing and walked out of the door. 

"Yes...yes...father."