Aster positioned his free arm between himself and the beast, leveraging his weight to keep the animal at bay as his strength waned.
This is so stupid. Just give up and die already.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe deeply. His body shook with tension, but he tried to remember the past few days—specifically, the moments he spent meditating.
He focused on slowing his racing thoughts, but the hateful, suffocating feelings crept into his consciousness, clawing at him from the inside. With every slow breath, he became painfully aware of his rapidly deteriorating elbow.
Fortunately for Aster, the beast seemed aware of its poison's effects. It was content to hold its ground, engaged in a war of attrition.
Aster's mind refocused. He felt foolish for even trying to meditate in the middle of this fight, but a flicker of instinct told him there was something vital he needed to grasp. Or perhaps that was just the poison coursing through his veins; he hoped not.
He shook his head, frustrated. What was he missing? He needed clarity. What had been constant in his training? Was it exercise? No, that couldn't be it—he had fallen asleep while meditating the night before. Was it his breathing? No, something was off. Every time he had attempted to meditate, he had been juggling multiple tasks—walking, sleeping, listening, eating, fighting for his life—until now.
Oh.
His mind stilled. The constant was that he had never meditated without some distraction, always delegating part of his brain to a secondary task. Alarm bells blared in his head as he realized he needed to act—now.
In a desperate gamble, Aster let his body go limp, surrendering to the beast's potential attack. It was a dangerous move, but he hoped the creature would grow overconfident, assuming he was beaten.
He released his thoughts of the beast, the fight, and the consequences. He let go of the struggles that had haunted him, releasing the hateful thoughts that plagued his mind. For the first time, Aster allowed himself to simply _be_.
-
Louis and Mia snored softly at the kitchen table, oblivious to the fight unfolding on the small screen. Isabella stepped softly into the kitchen, draping blankets over her children with tired hands.
But when she glanced at the screen, her heart dropped.
A grotesque beast gnawed on Aster's limp body.
-
Everything faded away around Aster; even his physical form felt distant, melting in and out of existence. The cruel thoughts that had tormented him seemed far away.
This wasn't the first time he had felt this way. Back in the void where he learned about Alurian, he had felt similarly—less... real. But now, it was different. His form had substance, albeit blurry, connected to his real body.
Aster recalled what Shevron had said days ago: "It just takes time for your mana pathways to form once you begin your path."
He looked down at his hazy form; it throbbed, like streams converging into a whole.
Are these my mana pathways?
It made sense. In the void, he hadn't picked a path yet, so he wouldn't have had any pathways. But now...
His form shook, recoiling from what he guessed was the beast outside. The mana pathways near his elbow were barely visible, and the weakness spread with every passing second.
Yet something felt off. Shouldn't he be dead by now?
Hahahahahaha.
If his form had a face, it would've twisted into a psychotic grin.
Well, what's dying one more time?
-
Isabella watched in silent horror as the beast continued to gnaw on Aster's arm, the scene stretching on for an eternity.
After nearly twenty minutes, the beast relented, releasing Aster's gory limb to the ground. It stepped back, sniffing at Aster's pack, its hunger shifting to the rations Shevron had given him.
Disgusting chomps echoed through the wasteland as the beast devoured Aster's provisions.
At that moment, Isabella finally reacted, her instincts driving her to turn off the screen before her children could witness the horror. She took one last look at her son before—
Aster's eyes flickered open.
His lips contorted into a pained smile.
Thud.
The small screen fell to the floor.
"Aer..."
-
Aster's entire body throbbed in pain, but he couldn't help but celebrate in his mind. The vile thoughts, the weakness—they faded like shadows at dawn, the poison's effects suppressing him while it wreaked havoc on his mana pathways.
Unfortunately for the beast, Aster had the slowest mana pathways around.
It had been close; the toxin was mere moments away from reaching his vitals when it concluded he was dead.
His gamble had paid off.
Aster stared at the beast, watching as it tore through his belongings. A part of him ached, mourning the loss of his provisions, but he couldn't afford to dwell on it now.
He scanned the scattered items, adrenaline kicking in.
Booyah.
Just a few feet away, the knife Shevron had gifted him glimmered under the starlit sky.
But it was also within biting distance of the beast.
He had only one shot. Time was running out.