Shaky breaths.
Burning hotness that threatened to turn him into ash.
There was no escaping it. There is no way to prevent or shield from it. The shadows from both of their pasts, their hot, burning traumas, and fears that drowned them in never-ending darkness. Was there an end to their suffering? Asher wasn't sure.
He was trapped inside his own mind. The form he took was of his body from his original world. Sickly pale, burnt hair, dry lips. He took a few shaky steps while trying to gather himself. What happened to him?
"Ah, of course." Asher mused while shaking his head. How could he have forgotten what had happened?
He had somehow fused his magical prowess with Pithos' and managed to summon the box that held a fair amount of letters and a family picture. If one thinks about it, it's the cutest idea a child could have. Filling an empty box with a beautiful picture of their family smiling happily and letters addressed towards them in what one would imagine an innocent and bright tone. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for our beloved Asher. Just remembering what was written in those letters made his heart wrench in sadness.
The pain Asher had been experiencing had finally subsided and turned into a numbing feeling. This allowed him to deeply breathe in and actually concentrate on what was happening around him.
Closing his eyes, Asher felt two magical essences flow within him. Having had Pithos help him with summoning the box, Asher immediately took notice that this was in fact Pithos' magic helping to control whatever was happening to him. The other essence felt somewhat familiar, but he couldn't exactly figure out who it was coming from.
Three faint strings of magical prowess danced around Asher's figure. They played and danced around, painting his surroundings in an unfamiliar yet comforting scene.
Bracing himself, Asher opened his eyes to see himself in a bright and lively forest. Red and black colored birds tweeted and danced around while playing with the soothing wind. The sound of water crashing onto the rocks and created a beautiful symphony that could put anyone at ease. There were also small, yellow lights that protectively surrounded the small and lush haven.
Asher took in the view with eyes full of astonishment. However, this wasn't the only thing that had surprised him. In front of him was Asher, the past Asher. He looked exactly like the body Asher had possessed. The only difference was the strange knowing look in the small boy's eyes.
The current Asher didn't dare move while being in the presence of the past Asher. He felt guilty; guilty over the fact that he can experience the life that the little boy would've never been able to experience.
"I'm sorry..."
Asher locked eyes with the boy expecting to see anger or jealousy. However, no feelings were residing in the past Asher's eyes. There was only a thin layer of coldness that was on the verge of breaking. A thin wall that separated the small boy from the rest of the world.
Past Asher looked away. His eyes were now focused on what lied outside the small and secure space that was created for them.
Memories. The thing they were being protected from were the memories. Memories that belonged to both Ashers.
What first appeared before them were memories brimming with happiness. The days when young Asher played with his elder brothers. The nights when he sneaked out of his room to sleep beside his parents. The day when the Pierce family had a picnic and they all played, laughed, and enjoyed their time as a family.
For the current Asher, the memories were not much different. What first popped out were the countless nights of heavy rain and thunder. A teary-eyed Asher was engulfed by his mother's strong and warm arms. What came out next was the countless praises and kisses he had received while helping his parents out with work around the house.
Warm memories filled with love. Asher could only grimace at what he expected would appear next. Their bad memories, their traumas, and their fears.
The day when Alejandro had ordered Ian and Kio to keep their distance from Asher. The small boy, who was much younger back then, had overheard this conversation. At the time, he was much closer to Ian, which was why he had decided to try and gain his favor years later.
This wasn't the only bad memory the past Asher had. There was an endless amount of these memories that resulted in trauma; a deep scar that had never healed.
In this regard, the current Asher's bad memories were vastly different. His past in his original world had never led him to commit the same atrocious act past Asher had committed. His life in his original world had only led him to fear being alone and abandoned. What led to this fear where the countless years where his parents were swamped with work. They couldn't give Asher the love and attention a young child needed to grow into a functional adult. The fatal mistake his parents did was think that their son knew that he was deeply loved.
These memories flashed into both Ashers's heads. Memories that they had to relive and memories that didn't belong to them. They stood there, unmoving, taking everything in with open minds.
After everything had come and passed, past Asher floated towards the young adult that had taken over his body after he passed away. His small, faint hand rested upon Asher's hollow cheeks as he smiled happily. The wall that he had desperately clung onto had been tossed aside long ago.
"We were unable to live our lives to the fullest. We both laughed, cried, and suffered. However, only one of us was strong enough to survive."
"No!" Asher yelled, desperately shaking his head. "I'm not as strong as you think. I separated myself from my family despite knowing how much they loved me. You, on the other hand..."
"You tried. You tried to reconnect with those around you. I don't deserve to live in your place," he choked out, tears running freely down his face.
The past Asher shook his head. He was already dead. Both of them knew this, making this all the harder to accept for Asher.
"I can't. I thought I would be able to live with this new identity. Live my own life without care. But I can't. Not when I will be taking what is rightfully yours."
Asher definitely doesn't deserve this. He never tried to change his circumstances in his original world. He merely worked and worked before quitting and focusing his remaining life on a now meaningless game that he thought brought him joy.
"You won't be alone. You have mommy, you have Kio. It might take a while and a lot of work, but you also have Ian and father. Lastly, you'll have me."
The past Asher's smile was enough to brighten up a dull room. His toothy grin was filled with hope; hope that Asher will live for both of them.
Hearing this, Asher looked at him in surprise. How? How will they be together when the other Asher had already left this world.
"You will live for me. You will live for yourself. We will live for each other. From now on, neither of us will be alone. I will merge our souls with the help of your friends. We will be the Asher that lived and died in another world and the Asher who drowned himself in the world you are currently in. We will become one."
"That is if you accept to merge ourselves into one. If not, my soul will permanently leave this place and live on wherever the higher power wants me to. What do you say, Asher?"
Asher didn't hesitate. Not even for a fraction of a second. "Yes. Let's find our happiness together."
The young boy nodded before intertwining his hands with Asher's. Their foreheads rested against one another. A small, bright light grew from their hands. It slowly grew bigger and brighter, swallowing them whole. It's warm.
Outside of Asher's subconsciousness, Pithos and Archer kept pouring their magical prowess into the boy's body. They were very careful in the action of allowing their magic to flow freely throughout Asher's body. If they were to ever over-stimulate the young boy's magical core with powers that didn't belong to itself, they could potentially rob Asher of ever using magic. Even worse, they could even bring Asher a premature death.
"Are you sure we are helping the young master? He hasn't woken up yet."
Pithos rolled his eyes at Archer's words. "For someone who appears to be distant and loyal only to Master Zacharia, you are quite warm towards Asher."
"It is a given. I must serve Young Master Asher to the best of my abilities in order to fulfill Master Zacharia's wishes. He is only a child, so how can I treat him coldly? Treating him in such a manner would only make him wary of me," said Archer, his silver eyes meeting Pithos' ruby orbs.
The black cat turned away from his gaze. He breathed in before meeting the servant's gaze head-on.
"Who would've thought that you and that ice brat would be so similar."
"Ice brat? Do you mean Young Master Kio?"
"Yes, that kid," Pithos snickered. "Both of you pretend not to care for the small boy. You for professional reasons and the other for personal reasons. Yet, at the end of the day, the ones that are always by his side when something bad happens is both you and ice brat."
Archer's eyes hardened. It was like a wall that prevented others from knowing his true thoughts and feelings. It was quite obvious why Archer immediately put up a wall between himself and the cat; he doesn't want to make the wrong choice. He didn't want to inform Master Zacharia that he doubts the fact that Asher was involved in any dark group. What if, by giving Asher the benefit of the doubt, his master would end up receiving the backlash? It doesn't matter if what Pithos just said is true or not, he just knew that he could never put his master in harm's way.
Pithos sighed and shook his head. Why are humans so stubborn regarding their thoughts and feelings? "Sure, let's go with your poor excuse. But listen here; if something ever happens and my little human is being chased by you guys, I won't hesitate in leaving you behind for Asher."
Archer laughed coolly and nodded. Even if he wouldn't admit it to himself, as long as what happened had nothing to do with his master, he would without a doubt help Asher escape.
A few minutes had passed since then. Asher hadn't woken up, greatly worrying the ones that were supplying their magical prowess. However, not even a few seconds later, both Pithos and Archer began to lose control over their magical cores.
Since the beginning of this ordeal until now, they had been supplying magic in a consistent manner. Now, their magical prowess was being sucked away directly from the source; their own magical cores. The amount of magic that was being poured into Asher had far exceeded the safe quantity needed to keep Asher stable.
Because of the insane amount of magic that was being produced inside the room, magical particles had begun to appear. These particles floated around aimlessly. However, magical particles were greatly known for causing great disturbance. And just how it was expected, these particles caused fierce gusts of wind inside the spacious room. It also caused a blackout, meaning that there was no visible light inside the room. Not even the window was able to bring light into the now dark room.
"You dammed black cat! You told me that nothing would happen!" Archer yelled out in a panic as he tried to keep himself steady despite the strong winds that threatened to push him away. If this continues, it would greatly hurt Asher, Archer, and Pithos.
"How was I supposed to know this would happen!? This is one of the reasons why I never wanted to involve myself with you humans! Humans are way too spontaneous!"
Everything stopped just as their magical prowess was about to be completely depleted. The wind had calmed down and light had returned to the room. Archer and Pithos were breathing heavily as they tried to piece together what had just happened.
"I- I don't understand. What just happened?" As soon as Archer's voice rang out in the still calmness, everything went black for both Archer and Pithos.
When they opened their eyes again, they were in an unfamiliar place that was coated with their magic. Surrounding the lush greenery was darkness as far as the eye could see.
"Pithos, Archer, would you be the witnesses of our union?"
A small, boyish voice was heard. The cat and the servant had immediately noticed that this was the voice of the boy that they were desperately trying to help before. However, there was definitely something different about his tone.
It wasn't like the Asher they knew. Energetic, slightly annoying (courtesy of Archer), and filled with care. No, this tone was much softer and it possessed a hint of childlike innocence.