"I am sorry... Son."
"Ace... kukkk!!! It's not your fault..."
In front of Ace was his father bleeding and looking at him with sad eyes. He felt a warm sensation on his hand.
"Aaaa!!! What have I done? Nooo!!! Dad..."
"I didn't mean... What have I done? Why?"
Ace screamed in fear as he noticed his fist had pierced through his father's chest. Blood was dripping from his hand like a stream of water.
His own voice came to his ears, enticing him to fall into the pit of darkness. He looked around but could only see his father bleeding in front of him.
"Nooo!!! This isn't me... I am not a killer," Ace yelled in sorrow. His confused mind was muddled with countless thoughts. He never wanted to kill anyone for anything. He wasn't sure what to do. There was only darkness around him, and he was looking for a trace of light.
"Power!!! Yes... Arggg!!! No, stop it. Get out of my head... I just wanted a peaceful life. I never wanted to hurt anyone. If this is what you call absolute power, then I don't want it...," Ace yelled while trying to pull out his hand, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move a single muscle. It was as if his fist was frozen there.
"Nooo!!!"
"Get out of my head... Leave me alone. Oh God, what have I done? Why do I have to endure this? Why me?"
Ace yelled as tears of sadness continued to drip from his eyes. He could feel he was losing his mind. He was desperately trying to break free, but the harder he tried, the harder it became to resist the voice.
"Nooo!!! They didn't lie... They gave me the power to help everyone around me. And look at me now... I messed up everything and even ended up hurting everyone..."
"I even hoped for my father's death... What kind of person have I become? How low have I fallen? How can a child hope for his parents to die?"
Ace said in a wavering tone. He thought that he must have done something wrong along the way. The Gods gave him a chance and power, but he failed to utilize those properly. He blamed everything on everyone around him. Now, he was regretting, thinking about his past behavior.
"Yes... This is my choice. I won't allow anyone to control me. I will find a way to fix my mistakes and talk things out with them... We are family. They will understand..."
"So, disappear... Whoever you are... Get out of my mind..."
A thought struck his mind. It was kind of weird, but he realized that life is all about ups and down. There is nothing as 100% perfect in this world. It depends on how one adjusts to the world and forges relations with people around them.
[Sizzzle] Jin's body faded away. The blood on Ace's hand disappeared. The darkness around him seemed to flicker, and he noticed something shining around him, trying to break into the dark space.
The voice was echoing around Ace, filled with bloodlust. It was desperately trying to hold the dark space from shattering.
"I know who you are... You and I are the same. You are my darkness... There isn't any human in this world who doesn't have any darkness in their heart. I thank you for being there for me all this time..."
"Thanks to you, I was able to survive... You must be exhausted, right? After all... I dumped all my pain and agony into you. Thank you for everything... But it's time to rest..."
Ace extended his hand in front and touched someone's head.
[Clank] The dark barrier shattered, and white light gushed in. In front of Ace was standing a man, someone he was very familiar with, his past self.
He could never forget the worn-out man with dead eyes to whom life rejected every moment, yet he strived hard to survive. Exhaustion was dripping from his face as he looked into Ace's eyes, "Rest..." He mumbled.
"Yes... You have earned it..."
"There is no need to struggle anymore. This time, allow me to carry my own weight. And I have never thought about abandoning you... Rest assured that I will find them and take care of them... I trusted you, right? This time, put your trust in me..."
Ace said with a smile. He had been holding on to his rage and past into his heart for way too long. He thought that it was about time to break away from that past and accept his present life. It's time to let go of his darkness. A new light awaits him.
"Rest... Yes, rest..."
"Tired... Sleep... A little sleep... I will rest..."
"Light... I can see the light... So bright... No more darkness... No more... cold..."
"No more loneliness... Warm... So warm... Thank you and sorry for everything..."
Ace's past self slowly turned to golden dust before his eyes, flying toward the white sky.
[Real world] [Location: Silver family's second mansion] [Medical chamber]
They brought Ace and Jin to the medical facility. Jin's injuries were severe due to the sound blast he took head-on, and although Ace wasn't much injured, for some reason, his heartbeat was rapidly falling.
"Damn it!!! Jin is healing rapidly on his own, but Ace's condition is rapidly declining..."
"Our healing methods are not working on them..."
The medics and doctors with healing superpowers were running around with different equipment. They have never witnessed such a phenomenon in their careers. Neither powers nor medicines are working on them.
[Ping!!!] The equipment beside Ace's bed began a pinging sound.
"Shit!!! His heart stopped... Prepare the shock..."
They forced an electric shock directly into Ace's heart since he wasn't responding, but it was useless. He wasn't responding to the treatment.
[Crackle] Jin's body began to glow with a green hue, "Hufff!!!"
He jumped up on his bed and looked around. The doctors were running around with scared expressions around Ace's bed beside him. He looked toward the glass wall. Jaxon, Clare, Trisa, and Irina were standing with worried looks.
"Sorry..."
"We lost him... We couldn't save him..."
The medics pulled out the plug and informed everyone about Ace's death.
"It's over..."
Irina's legs gave out. She fell to the floor with a ghastly expression. The visions of the apocalypse which she feared flashed before her eyes. She couldn't even hear the cries of the people around her. Her senses went numb. Her eyes fell over Ace's body.
[Crackle] She saw a small flicker of white lightning on Ace's finger. She somehow stood up, leaning on the wall. A glimmer of hope was in front of her.
"It isn't over yet..."
"Don't give up... Fight Ace..."
Irina yelled, gathering everyone's attention. She ran inside the room with her wobbly feet, nearly falling on the floor.
[Sizzzle] The sparking white flames appeared on Ace's body, along with sparks of white lightning. The darkness they witnessed earlier has disappeared. His body flew a few inches from the bed.
[Boooom] [Wooosh] Waves of energy began to emerge from his body.
"A breakthrough??? He is going through a breakthrough..."
"Clear out the facility... With the power, he has, if he breakthrough here... We won't be able to endure the energy blast..."
Jaxon yelled. He knew the phenomenon very well since he had faced the same thing during his first breakthrough inside a dungeon while nearly dying.
The stronger power one holds the more vital energy radiation one emits after a breakthrough. Lower Grades and low power holders will perish in front of superior power. But in Ace's case, it was his overpowered flames. So, everyone around him will be affected if it explodes.
*****
**[The Host endured his past]
**[Unwavering Will detected]
**[Unlocking second phase of S.E.N.S.E] [Ist Awakened Power]
**[Unlocking second phase of S.E.N.S.E] [2nd Awakened Power]
E_Unlocked
E_Unlocked
*****