Ashe Daemon's POV
As Mom fell to the ground, I could feel myself stop breathing.
"…mom? MOMMY!?!"
Mom is there something wrong!?
I never ever saw Mom like this.
She looks to be in a lot of pain…
This is bad! This is very bad! I don't like it when Mom is in pain!
Why is Mom in so much pain? Is it something she ate? Like that one time I ate that weird mushroom I found growing outside the house.
I remembered Mom making very delicious mushroom soup. She said she gathered those mushrooms from the forest to cook for me. It was very good.
When I saw that weird mushroom, I thought, 'It must be delicious', and instantly put it in my mouth.
That is when my tummy started hurting.
I cried to mommy saying, "Ow! Mom it hurts! I don't feel good!"
Mom back then scolded at me for a long time for eating the funny mushroom when I don't know what they are. She was very scary.
Then Mom pulled a colorful flower from one of her baskets and started smashing it into a paste.
She then put the paste into a glass of water and then told me to drink it.
I didn't want too, but Mom made me drink in any way.
Then an amazing thing happened!
My tummy, which was hurting so much before, instantly got better!
I thought it was like magic.
Mom then told me that the flower she used can help my tummy aches when I eat weird mushrooms.
Afterward, she warned me again. I promised to never put strange mushrooms into my mouth again.
Right now it is Mom is hurting.
Did she also eat a strange mushroom?
But Mom is holding her head and is curled up. She looks a lot worse than when I had a tummyache.
Flower! Yes! Mom said that tummy pain can go away with a flower!
But Mom does not just have a tummyache.
Mom is really hurting, so she must need a really good flower!
I remember something Mom had said to me once. She sometimes needs to go out to get a certain flower.
The flower was very weird and totally black. It did not look pretty at all.
But Mom said that getting the flower was very important.
If I get Mom that flower, maybe her pain will go away!
I remember Mommy recently went looking for the flower.
I looked around for a sign of that flower that Mom usually gets, but I couldn't find it.
I started to get worried, but then I got a good idea.
"Mom! Does it hurt?" said I asked, with worry, "I know! You need that ugly flower, right? You said that it would make you feel better. There isn't any right now, though. But that's okay, I am going to out to get a new flower, Mom! Just wait a bit."
That's right. If there is no flower in the house, I should go find it myself!
It seems like Mom is trying saying something….she must be telling me to get the flower quickly.
Don't worry Mom, I will find the flower and cure your tummyache!
I quickly ran out of the house in search for the flower.
I ran, then I searched.
I searched, then I ran some more.
The forest is kind of scary….No! It is not scary at all. I am a man. I can find the flower by myself.
I continued to search. The forest was getting extremely quiet and really dark, but that won't stop me.
After who knows how long, I finally was able to get a glimpse of what I was searching for.
"Ah! There it is! The ugly flower!"
.Deeper within the forest, I finally found what I was looking for.
A large bush filled with few of the ugly flowers I saw Mom get many times before.
"Now I can get it for Mom and then Mom won't be hurt anymore!"
I quickly ran towards the black flowers, oblivious to anything else.
Ashe still doesn't know. While both young and lacking in experience, time waits for no one. Multiple eyes, filled with brutal hunger, surround the ignorant boy and draw in closer, slowly but surely. The promised time has come.
.
.
.
….So far so good.
When Ashe had left directly from the house, I had kept my eyes(?) on the screen making sure to not miss anything out of the ordinary.
While I had prior knowledge that nothing bad will happen before Ashe makes contact with the Blackthorn Rose, but that was when VDS was just an MMORPG.
What I am experiencing right now is anything but a normal MMORPG.
The tree branches that look so close I can almost touch it. A dark atmosphere so thick, it feels like I am swimming in a bog. What was merely a 2D character on a screen is now living and breathing right in front of me.
A thing I thought was impossible had became reality.
Now, anything is possible.
While it is possible that the flow of events will not deviate from the original story, it is also equally possible that an accident could happen when I least expect it.
For one thing, I never saw any indication that Ashe Daemon was in fact a holder of a third soul beyond his own and Xoketh's.
Even though Ashe's current soul right now used to be an entire half of my soul that was ripped apart when I had woken up in his body.
The idea that my soul half could possibly affect Ashe's future decisions is a huge unknown variable that makes me very nervous for the future.
At this point, Ashe's current personality matches his personality that was depicted in the game during the tutorial stage. If it wasn't, he could have possibly never thought to go to get the Blackthorn Rose for his mother. Though I am not sure what a 5-year-old me would do.
Thankfully it didn't happen, but it is not a good time to turn complacent now.
With renewed determination, I glare at the screen with even more intensity.
Ah! You're going to tri...*phew* that was close! He almost gave me a heart attack!
Having a 5-year-old who barely knows how to run within a dense forest filled with danger is not good for my (imaginary) heart.
After that near accident, Ashe's search continued without any more incidents.
Through my 'Soul Link', I can feel Ashe's ever-growing fear of the forest.
As if resonating with Ashe's fear, Xoketh's soul fragment seems to grow in power. The pressure it emits makes me start to shiver involuntarily.
Time is almost up.
If this goes on, I feel like I would not be able to hold on much longer.
Unlike that time when my soul had split into two, I don't feel as much pain.
Rather, I feel as if my soul is slowly being eroded and my consciousness begins to slip away.
I took this as a sign that my soul is slowly being absorbed into Xoketh's control.
It is not a pleasant feeling.
As I continue to endure, I felt that Ashe stopped moving and turned once again to look at the screen,
What appeared in front of me was an image of a bush that contains what appears to be black roses.
[It's here.]
The target is found. The appearance of the rose matches with Ashe's memory when he saw Aileen handle the flowers at home. It is without a doubt, the Blackthorn Rose.
I can feel Ashe's excitement through the 'Soul Link'. This is bad!
Ashe is totally absorbed in excitement for finding the flower that his attention has been completely distracted from his surroundings.
[No! Ashe! Stop it right now! Look around you, right now! Can you hear me!]
While knowing it was useless, I continued to scream at Ashe in hopes that he would heed my warnings and look around him.
Ashe, oblivious to my plight, ran directly towards the bush.
It was at that time, I picked up a sound of bushes stirring….all around Ashe.
[Ashe, no! Stooooop!!!]
Then, in a twist of fate, Ashe's foot got caught by a tree root and he tripped hard onto the ground.
A large shadow soared over Ashe's fallen body, passing through the area that Ashe's body would have been if he had not tripped.
In pain, Ashe slowly got up from the ground and I was finally able to get a good look at the attacker.
Sleek black fur, large yellow eyes, large verticle pupils with a carnivorous glare, claws sharp as swords, and the body size of small pony filled the screen.
There is no mistake, that is one of the lowest-ranked Aether Beast which populates the Merez Forest, the Merez Forest Wolf.
However, while weak compared to other beasts within the forest, to an average Eareo soldier, one Merez Forest Wolf can spell doom for an entire platoon.
And, unfortunately, bad luck comes in pairs. In this case, in multiples.
While looking around, Ashe was able to capture five more wolves within his vision.
"A….aahh..aaahhhh….," Ashe could only let out a sound from fear as he slowly crawls on his back slowly away from the wolves.
"Grrrrrrr…."
The Merez Forest Wolves each let out a low growl, scaring Ashe even further.
Seeing their prey have such a low posture, their eyes seem to teem with mirth and they growled again.
Aether Beast is the collective term for creatures capable of using and controlling Aether, seemingly limitless energy that floats freely within the air. Aether Beast, just like humans, can use Aether to perform feats beyond what their physical bodies by themselves can achieve. Aether Beast such as the Merez Forest Wolves boasts a higher intelligence than normal beast. Some Aether Beast even reached an intelligence threshold to equal humans such as understanding human languages and are able to create complex strategies during battle.
Due to that intelligence, Aether Beasts are capable of exhibiting behaviors different from their normal counterparts. The Merez Forest Wolves, having seen the cowardness displayed by their prey, learned the taste of playing with their food.
They continue to growl as they move closer and closer.
Ashe, seemingly due to fear, had already wet his pants and his breathing is continuously getting shallower and faster.
Through the 'Soul Link', I experienced Ashe's fear directly. The sound of his heartbeat seemly vibrating my very soul.
I look back towards Xoketh. He has grown to the size of a large beach ball. Red lines appear all across his spherical soul body as though they are veins.
However, there is no other movement.
[Why isn't it moving? Is this not enough negative emotion? At this rate, Ashe will be torn apart.]
Seemingly tired of their game, one of the wolves charge directly at Ashe with open jaws.
"Eeeeeeek…!!!"
On instinct, Ashe immediately dodged to the side. However, he did not completely make it.
"AaAaaAAAhhHHhhhHH!!!"
A long gash appeared on his right arm as the Merez Forest Wolf's sharp teeth grazed his skin.
*Ba-bump*
As if waiting for this moment, Xoketh's soul sphere seemed to have exploded and turn into a dark mist.
That dark mist then immediately spread throughout the soul space.
As if wishing to devour everything, the dark mist continues to spread and engulfing the entire space. I was not an exception.
[Aaaagghhhhh!! Let go! Let me go! I only need you to take care of the wolves! I can't disappear now!! Leave me! Le-t m-me g-g-goo....]
Not wanting to be one-sidedly swallowed, I continue to try to resist the dark mist
However, unlike when I had a body, I had no appendages to push the black mist away.
I tried to use my 'will' to try to push Xoketh away, but my weak soul betrayed me.
With no ability to resist, I felt my consciousness slowly disappear into the darkness.
….Is this the end?
With that final thought, the warm embrace of darkness envelopes me.