"Asher! Get ready quick! Or Mom and Dad will leave you alone!" a beautiful woman with wheat-blond hair spoke. "EHH! No fair Mom, I am almost done with this game! Please wait!" a six-year-old kid with the same wheat-blond hair said.
"Young man! Just pause the game and play it again later!" Lilia said as she combed her hair. Asher pouted as he yelled, "I can't pause an online game, Mom!"
Lilia chuckled as she saw the reflection of a handsome man with neatly combed black hair, "Honey! Do something about Asher, please! Or else, we will run late for Casandra's party!"
Brandon grinned, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he joined Lilia in the mirror. "Leave it to me," he said, his voice carrying a hint of mischief.
With a gentle tug, he coaxed Asher away from the screen by putting his hand in between, eliciting a playful protest from the young boy. "Hey, watch it! I was about to win!" he exclaimed.
Brandon snickered, "Hey Ash, be honest with yourself, you are going to lose this game anyway. You have barely any health, all your teammates are dead, and your team only has 3 kills. So-"
"Fine, I get it!" Asher bellowed as he slammed the tab on his lap. Brandon chuckled, ruffling Asher's hair affectionately. "That's the spirit! Now, let's find you something more suitable. We wouldn't want you making a fashion statement of tank top and undies at your mom's friend's birthday bash, would we?"
Asher stuck his tongue out as he began to run towards his room. "What a handful." Lilia sighed. Brandon laughed as he said, "He is just like me."
"What are you talking about, he is smart like me," Lilia commented as she pridefully put her hand on her face.
"EHH? Are you saying that I'm not smart!?" Brandon said as he pointed at himself. Lilia's expression turned serious, "Yes."
Brandon's jaw dropped, eyes welling up. Lilia sighed, arms gesturing a shrug, "Sometimes, I wonder why I married you."
Brandon's eyes widened as he pointed his index at her. "Hey! You were the one that suggested we get married!" Lilia sighed as she walked up to Brandon and patted his head, "You're like a cute puppy I want to keep around."
Brandon smirked, "A 'handsome' puppy, you mean, right?" But before Lilia could reply, a voice interjected, "Dad, you're shamelessly admitting you're a puppy." It was Asher, deadpan as ever.
Lilia burst into laughter, while Brandon slumped, Asher patting his shoulder, "Asher, you have to defend your father at times like this."
Asher smirked as he too, patted his father's shoulder, "Buy me a few Vbucks and we have a deal."
Brandon immediately looked at Asher with stars in his eyes, "I'll buy it right after we are done with Casandera's party!"
"Hehe.." Asher chuckled evilly as Lilia looked at her spouse with pitiful eyes, "Why did Jesus make him so dumb..."
___________________________________________________________________________
Asher sat motionless on the sterile bed in the eerie silence of the room cloaked in white. His eyes, devoid of any spark, stared into the void.
*Tick Tock*
The relentless rhythm of the clock's second hand echoed through the desolate room, each tick a reminder of the passing time, indifferent to the anguish within.
*Tick Tock*
The door creaked open, admitting two figures clad in white coats. One, a youthful man in his twenties, bore a sorrowful gaze, while the other, a stern elder in his fifties. The youth's gaze held a glimmer of pity as it fell upon Asher, who appeared to be dead inside. He had cracked lips and bleak green eyes and half his face was obscured beneath a swath of bandages, a cruel reminder of the tragedy that befell him a day ago.
Unmoved by their presence, Asher remained fixed upon his desolate reverie, staring into nothingness.
The elder, steeling himself, stepped forth, adjusting his spectacles in a futile attempt to shield himself from the abyss that had consumed this child's world. "Mr. Greenville, I-I..." His grip tightened upon the clipboard, with grief. Asher turned his gaze, a mask of stoicism veiling his shattered soul.
The stern man's face softened a bit as a few tears built up in the corner of his eyes.
The child that was looking at him right now.. was empty... He was but six years old and the old man knew that what he was about to say next was going to break the boy's world.
With a heavy heart, the elder continued while looking down, Unable to face the boy's emerald eyes. "I am s-sorry to tell you that your parents, unfortunately, didn't survive the car accident."
*Tick Tock*
*Tick Tock*
The man brought his face up to see Asher looking in the other direction, seemingly losing interest. The youth beside the man nudged his elbow into the stern man's side as he whispered, "Sir, I think it is best if we gave him some time to himself to process what he just heard." The stern man nodded solemnly as they both walked to the door to take their leave.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, the air was pierced by a primal scream.
A long, blood-curdling, pained scream.
Asher strained his vocal cords, tears cascading down his cheeks like a torrential downpour. He clutched at his chest, the pain consuming him from within, relentless and unforgiving.
His heart hurt.
It was unbearable.
It felt as if a bullet was shot right at his heart.
"WHY?!"
His fingers clawed at his face, nails biting into flesh as he sought to release the anguish festering within him. Blood welled from the fresh wounds as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "WHY WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO LIVED!"
He raked his nails across his skin in a desperate bid to escape his own existence.
"I SHOULD HAVE DIED WITH THEM!"
The words erupted from his lips like a primal howl, each syllable dripping with anguish and regret.
"I SHOULD BE DEAD!"
"I SHOULD BE DEAD!"
"I SHOULD BE DEAD!"
"I SHOULD BE--"
And then, with a sudden jolt, Asher awoke.
His chest heaving with the remnants of his torment. Blinking through the haze of sleep, he found himself in a narrow cave, the damp walls closing in around him.
Bringing trembling hands to his face, he felt something wet on his palm. He looked at the drops of.. 'water' as more began to drop from his blurry eyes as he murmured under his breath..
"dead."
____________________________________________________________________________
Asher picked up his stone sword from the head of the Scavenger. This one was that the verge of death as Asher simply dealt the finishing blow. "The weak will die while the strong will be feared." He said with a slight frown on his face.
[You have slain an awakened beast, Carapace Scavenger.]
[You have reiceived an Echo.]
Asher's face simply curled a small smile as he said under his breath, "Nice." He summoned the runes:
Echo: [Carapace Scavenger].
Echo Type: Beast.
Echo Core: Awakened.
Echo Attributes: [Strong], [Armored].
Echo Description: [A cursed soldier of the fallen legion].
"The same as Sunny's Echo.."
He then touched the Echo and waited if something would happen.
.
.
.
"Ok, My echo can't transform into something similar to a shadow.. Unfortunate."
Asher calmly looked at the Sky as he slapped himself.
"Alright! It's about time I start going towards Sunny!" Asher said in his usual way as he smashed the soul fragment.
[Your soul grows stronger.]
___________________________________________________________________
[A/N: Ok guys, review time! Now tell me.. did you feel sad?? I mean, there is the tragedy tag I put, so I need to know if it was actually sad ya know??
Feedback will help! And feel free to give suggestion on things I can improve. Thanks!]
P.S: Author-chan's favorite food is power stones... Just saying it... 🫢🫢