"What happened to your eyes?" She asked with the corners of her lips perking up into a smile.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a mutation after I awakened. It started this morning and became more and more purple over time." Lloyd nodded.
He wasn't lying, but what he said wasn't the whole truth. The best lies are the ones with truths in them.
"That is quite unfortunate. I'll order you some contact lenses to hide your eye color. You know how people are..." She said while looking at Rubert. Lloyd, on the other hand, solemnly nodded to this information.
"Anyway, its been nice speaking with you again. Thank you for the talk." Lloyd nodded and began to walk away.
"You're leaving just like that? It's raining; let Ruben drive you home. We are staying at your household today, so you might as well come with us"
Hearing this, Lloyd could not help but halt his movement. Looking back, he stared into her eyes.
"Mrs. Glade. Thank you for the offer, but I will have to decline. You know that I like the rain, but that isn't the only reason. I'd like to have an hour or two alone before going home so I'd like to resort to walking. I hope you understand." Lloyd slightly bowed and began to leave. Despite his words sounding polite and his tone being humble, Rubert and Mrs. Glade could not help but narrow their eyes.
They could feel a tinge of coldness within his voice. It was distant, but it was there. Only the likes of them could hear it because their senses were amplified after ascending so many commandments.
"When was the last time he called me Mrs. Glade?" She asked while looking at Lloyd's back with a worried expression plastered on her face.
While she was slightly confused at first, she threw it to the back of her mind, thinking that it was some kind of new sarcasm Lloyd had decided on using.
After a while, however, she felt like Lloyd was distant, not physically but emotionally. He didn't want to show anything to her, so he completely suppressed his emotions, something Rubert and her could easily discern with one conversation.
Appearing next to her, Rubert opened his mouth and replied-
"He has not called you that since the day you met... Remember? It was a year or so before the incident."
Solemnly nodding, she let out a sigh and walked herself to the car. Entering it, one question constantly went through her mind.
'What on earth happened for him to turn like this?'
"Madam, I suggest you just tell his parents about the situation rather than trying to fix it yourself. It is the best course of action..." Rubert said while entering the car.
"Sure, sure... Whatever you say Rubert..."
***
Lloyd had been walking through the city, and despite the rain pouring out of the skies like waterfalls, the streets were as bustling as always.
Rain was no longer a problem as most diseases that existed before the awakening of mana disappeared or evolved.
One simply could not get cold anymore while most if not all cancers had been cured, followed by terminal illnesses and even disabilities. In fact, the only way someone could get ill was if they contracted a mana illness that could only be cured by priests, clerics, and all the other holy/light magic users. This made it much easier for people to go out and have fun despite rain or snow.
After walking for a bit longer, Lloyd's violet eyes under the shadow of his hood got a glimpse of a shop that was selling some masks. His mind raced for a moment, but he quickly shook his head and threw the thought to the back of his mind while taking a mental note to visit this place in the future.
He knew that he could not use his Void Walker abilities in the open, and if he actually wanted to do so, he would need to cover up his identity, as not doing so could not only put him in danger but also endanger his family and everyone close to him.
Before Lloyd knew it, he was already in front of his door and using the drying feature that came with the wristwatch
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" He shouted.
"Lloyd, honey? Come to the living room." She shouted, and he complied.
Entering the living room, he widened his eyes slightly as he looked in shock.
On an enormous couch sat Zack, with his younger brother and sister on his parent's laps. Beside Zack sat a beautiful girl a little older than Zack and Lloyd, making her the same age as Elana, who was also sitting beside her.
On the other side of the couch sat Lloyd's parents, his younger siblings Alice and Josh on their laps, while Ana seemed to be sitting right next to them at the couch's end.
'Richard is out today too... He is a busy man after all so this should be expected.'
"Scooch over and let Lloyd sit with us." Olivia, Lloyd's mother, waved at Ana and made her give Lloyd some space to sit.
Sitting down, they began to watch the movie displayed on the holographic screen in front of them, and before they knew it, hours passed in what felt like moments.
The more powerful someone got, the less they needed to sleep, so after a few hours of this, none but the adults were awake, or so they thought until they saw Lloyd stand up.
"Honey? I'm surprised you are still awake." Olivia stated.
"Yeah... I'm going to go to my bed. The couch isn't very comfortable." He replied with a forced smile.
"Are you sure you don't want to sleep on my lap like when you were a baby?" Ava teased.
Despite it being true, Lloyd felt a little betrayed that his sister would expose him like this in front of the Glades, but instead of complaining, he chuckled and turned away, something none of them expected.
He wanted to seem fine. The only reason he was still awake was that the stress was beginning to get onto him, and he knew very well that Mrs. Glade, also known as Layla, could see and feel his emotions.
He knew that the moment he left, she would tell his parents and worry them, but he really needed to get to his bed before beginning to void walk.
Sprinting up the stairs, he entered his room and fell onto his bed without bothering to put a blanket on top of himself.
Feeling his heart thump loudly into his ears, he slowly closed his eyes and began to shakily breathe in and out.
After a few minutes of doing this, his mind began to calm down, and his heart rate slowed down to about 40 to 50 beats per minute.
The world around him began to gradually turn darker. Every time he tried to force himself awake would be met with nothing but failure, and at that moment, he knew that there was no turning back.
[Welcome to the void. We have been expecting you.]
Despite the voice saying something slightly different this time, that was the least of Lloyd's worries. In front of him were 5 weapons this time, yet despite there being two more options, his hand simply extended towards the katana.
[You have chosen your weapon.]
[Let the void walk commence.]
As the the voice entered his ears, he felt a flash of light almost blind him before landing on the ground once again. Everything around him seemed to form in a matter of seconds before extending as far as the eye could see, as if the world was rendering as he gained conciousness
*Grrr*
*Awoooooooo*
*Rawr*
Several animal sounds entered his ears, and he quickly took out the katana that seemed to have been created out of the very fabric of darkness.
Looking around, he could see several crimson red eyes piercing through the air and reaching him. As the gazes began to lock on him, panic grew in his heart, but without hesitation, he used [4-Dimensional Thought].
When he had entered, he was no longer in the same cave as before and instead found himself in a lush green forest.
Despite there not being a sign of darkness, that was just Lloyd's night vision ability coming into use and making it seem that way. The moonlight shone upon the forest around him, making the scene look even more beautiful.
However, Lloyd quickly noticed something when looking at the creatures around him, and that was-
'All of them are wolves. The exact type of wolves that I met in my first void walk at that. This might not be the same cave, but it sure as hell is the same world... Wait... World? Why can't this be a pocket dimension like those temporary portals? If I think about it, wouldn't it-'
*Swoosh*
Before Lloyd could finish his thought, his ears perked up as the sound of the wind whistling entered his ears.
Due to it being night and him being in the shadows of the trees that basked in the moonlight in his stead, his passive ability [Shadow Sustenance] automatically activated. This boosted all his senses and made it much easier to hear the abnormal whistling of the air.
Turning around, Lloyd swung his sword out in an arch.
*Clang*
In the next moment, he felt as if something was pushing against his blade, and finally, he saw the creature that tried to attack him.
Sneering, Lloyd pushed further and forced the wolf to retreat several steps. Not wanting to let go of his advantage, Lloyd leaned forward and shot off the ground. He was already in front of the wolf in less than a second with a readied over-head slash.
"Die!" Lloyd roared out, yet he would grow to quickly regret his choice of not remaining silent.
Despite the wolf looking like it was about to die, it attacked Lloyd instead. Widening his eyes and retreating several steps, Lloyd looked down at the shallow gash on his chest. While this didn't mean much for a void walker since they had no blood, if this was in the real world, his class and race would have been exposed.
The only reason the wolf's claws didn't reap Lloyd's life was because it was hesitant, and that moment of hesitation was all Lloyd needed to cut its head off and jump back several meters.
After several seconds, he finally realized his mistake...
He had become too confident.
Massacring the wasps had gotten to his mind, and a sense of invincibility washed over him, especially after killing the wasp queen without getting a single injury.
However, he could not even go a few seconds without getting injured, let alone 6 hours in the void. He thought that with his new abilities, he'd be capable of massacring the wolves the same way he massacred the wasps, but now he knew that such a thing would be nearly impossible.
Remembering his last attack, he instantly found over a dozen weak spots and openings in the attack.
An over-head slash at such a close distance was like asking for death, yet his newfound pride and confidence temporarily made him forget that. While he could have used [4-Dimensional Thought] and simply killed everyone without making any glaring mistakes, he opted not to.
When everyone was watching movies together, he was secretly thinking about everything that happened in the dungeon. While [4-Dimensional Thought] was an amazing skill, Lloyd recognized that it had its own flaws and setbacks.
Using it constantly would not allow Lloyd's normal mind to comprehend his acts, weakening his mental fortitude and making him an overall weaker person without it. If anything, [4-Dimensional Thought] should be used as a last resort, as using it constantly would be detrimental to his growth.
He also had very minimal control whenever he used the ability as it would do anything and everything to complete a goal that had been set, whether that would be the massacring of hundreds or something as simple as killing a fly was up to luck.
*Grrrr*
Several low growls suddenly entered Lloyd's ears, and as he turned around and met the eyes of several dozen wolves, he remembered his second mistake.
'I should have not shouted!'
-------
{If you have enjoyed this chapter and would like to support the author, please vote using your power stones or golden tickets.
Rewards for hitting certain milestones/quotas are in the synopsis.}