Eternal Elysium

Elric was cautious about several things in his life.

But the thing that made him nervous the most was dealing with awakeners. Unlike merchants who deal with money, they were beings who dealt with origin, a force outside of Elric's control.

This was something to fear.

A vast majority of people in this world believe that awakeners and those of above rank are nothing but muscle-headed idiots. And that's not wrong to believe because those idiots live in the society alongside them.

But here comes a truth that many had ignored: the true awakeners, and a vast majority of them, don't live with mundane humans like them in the inner sanctum of cities.

They live outside the safe zones, in the dead areas where humanity has perished and no life can be sustained. Those awakeners and awakened alike had been beaten by life again and again like iron hammered in the depths of fire to turn into a mighty blade.

Elric, while traveling, has witnessed those mighty blades; they were sharper than any steel and much deadlier than those awakened who live here.

That's why he was nervous when dealing with them but never afraid of them due to a single fact only he knew.

Those deadly blades, sharper than steel, were of fragile mind. He had seen this firsthand, not in Awakeners but in Transcendent once by luck.

This phenomenon was what they called drowning.

A process where people either drown in their emotions or completely lose them… a tantalizing form that robs transcendents of their sanity and humanity.

Turning them opposite to either their very nature or something more sinister.

Someone would ask. Why was Elric remembering these things right now?

Because Asher, who had been continuously praising Celestia like a fanatic, was getting on Elric's nerves right now.

Elric truly believed that Asher was either a being with the potential to be the same kind of deadly blade as those in dead zones or…

He was just a lunatic!

Elric closed his eyes, his fingers moving to rub the curve of his wrist as if discerning something that no one else could see, and then told it in a gentle tone.

"There is no need to swear on the goddess's name, Asher; I believe you… And well, I appreciate your honesty."

"Ah, I see; please don't get it the wrong way, though, Lord Elric. I am not telling you this because I want to take someone's side. I just don't want you to lose your trust in me. A small merchant like me is best to remain on the sideline and watch the show from afar." I said and added a small glint of fear in my eyes.

Elric, hearing Asher's words, was left perplexed.

"Joining someone's side, not just mine, I mean, still has immense benefits, Asher. As a new merchant, Asher, you should take such a risk sometime… And it's not like your presence will suddenly change the outcome now, will it?" He said and started to move forward.

Hearing his words, I didn't stand still either. Taking a step forward, I walked behind him.

And told in a meek voice.

"Lord Elric, I am a coward… yet hopeless when the time to do something great comes. I am just doing a job to help people live a better life. Money to me is irrelevant."

I had told no lie; every word spoken by me was nothing but the truth, albeit in a twisted sense.

"Haha… I guess you are correct that merchants are greedy; their life goal is to grow big. But unlike us, I can't see that fire in your eyes, the one that grows with greed." Elric laughed and answered sarcastically. His tone may have held warmth in them, but to me all his words felt like poison as deadly as the giant serpent.

"Maybe you are correct… So, let me tell this for once and for all, Lord Elric. I have no plan of helping anyone in this, neither you nor Young Master Ains."

"I see. That's sad to know; a capable young man like you would make a fortune in this day and time." Elric said in a polite tone.

His steps carried him to several shops as we continued to talk. I barely followed him, not aware where he was going.

"Thanks for your kind words, sir, but I should take my leave now… I hope you continue to enjoy your evening stroll." I said and took a step back.

Elric chuckled and softly patted my back before speaking with a tone of expectation. "This time I will have an evening stroll; hope you can join me next time as well, Asher."

I looked at the horizon where the sun was soon about to set and nodded toward him.

"Sure."

*****

Walking through the crowded streets, I once again activated [Kairosflow] and felt the world slow down to a crawl in my eyes.

Someone has been following me; I don't know how, but I could feel it… only a little bit.

I had tried to observe those around me, but no one could be seen near me. What a weird feeling this was…

I did not speed up and maintained a mundane speed as if having a stroll on the streets. This was for my own benefit; at a crowded place, anyone would hesitate to do something stupid.

And I could run away way faster this way as well in case the said person was a madman.

My eyes continued to search for the being following me, but alas, I could see no one.

I finally decided to increase my speed and took two steps towards an alleyway at the side of the road.

As I saw no one was in front of me in the dark alley, I raised my left hand and brought it to my face.

Slowly I could feel something wrap around my face.

Soon the parasitic white mask with blank facial features appeared over my face.

A tingling sensation crawled over me as I felt something burn over me, not letting it overwhelm me. I showed a bit of resistance, stopping it from eating my face.

With a small sigh, I continued to walk in the empty alley. The shadows deepened inside, as I could smell alcohol not far from here along with similar pungent smells.

The alley started to narrow more and more, but I didn't look back.

Tak!

Tak!

Soon all the sounds in the market started to vanish, and we were left with empty echoes. My footsteps meanwhile filled my ears, making me tense and filled with nervousness.

Then I vanished, activating the enchantment from the Mask of Panoply.

I kept my breathing still and turned around to see no one behind me.

Taking two steps back, I leaned on the moss-filled wall, with broken wood hanging out from its corner.

Thud!

My foot hit a trash can at the side, but I didn't mind it and let it roll to the center of the alley.

There the trash can started to tremble slightly as it rolled away, and with a small sound of hitting stones and gravel, it jumped slightly and hit the wall at the other corner.

Thuck!

From inside, a cat appeared and frantically started to run away.

My heart started to beat wildly as I saw something else come from behind the trash can. A string came and started to climb its metallic body; the string's thickness started to expand as layers upon layers started to form over it.

'What is that?'

The creamy, whitish-red strings now were like ropes, long and smooth. Those ropes raised from the ground and started to topple over each other.

An absurd display took place as they formed a new figure with a disgusting process.

In front of me now stood a man in loose clothing.

His build was that of a man in his forties, with grey hair and a rough beard over his face. His eyes were tired, and deep black circles were below them.

He frowned and looked around, his hand scratching his neck in annoyance.

"Where did he go?"

So, he was indeed following me around. Feeling my guess to be correct, a small smile played over my lips.

But what should I do next…?

Not many choices were possible here; this guy's abilities were one of the strangest I had ever seen in my life.

And not to say that I don't want to touch him after seeing his skin and bones split apart like strings and masses of tissue worms.

I could again feel my stomach churn in disgust as I remembered the process from which this man had appeared.

'I have 4 minutes before the mask effect goes off.'

I bit my lips and thought for a moment.

'Should I run away?'

This seems to be the safest bet right now.

At these moments do I only regret not having any ability with high attack potency?

'No, wait, there is still something I could do!'

*****

The man who had been looking at the empty alley was at a loss. He had been thoroughly following Asher in complete silence, but now he was nowhere to be seen.

As he took one step forward, he froze.

"Who are you?"

A voice echoed from the depths of the empty alley, making his—no, Sina's—hair stand up in fear.

She, still in the form of a man, turned to see where the voice came from in panic, her face showing no changes from her inner turmoil.

Seeing that she couldn't find the source of the voice, she chuckled and answered back.

"Should you not first come to greet me?"

The sound was not of a girl but rather of a man who seems to have thoroughly burned his throat drinking alcohol all his life, leaving no warmth behind.

"I see no reason to do that. An old man following a young man in an alley seems suspicious enough for me to take action."

The voice answered in an empty tone, but Sina could only be left confused.

She was a master in transformation; her years of experience had made it easier for her to discern any voice and face.

But the voice right now sounded different from the previous one.

'Are they not alone?' She thought.

'Or do they have an artifact to change their voices?'

Both of these were possible outcomes, and Sina didn't want to take risks with both of them.

"Oh, really? Where is that handsome man then… Or are both of you the same being?" Sina asked, throwing a small bait.

The mysterious person has yet to attack her. So, this was worth the shot. In the worst-case scenario, she would abandon her mission and run away!

The alley felt silent as a trifle chuckle entered her ears.

The voice in another voice that seemed to have changed once again answered back.

"What a splendid view of stupidity, I must say. If you can not even tell the difference between me and that boy, then I guess you were not worthy of my attention… But for your efforts, I will let you know I had thrown him away."

Sina frowned and tried to take a step forward.

Boom!

All of a sudden a wave of wind passed through her face, and something hit the wall at the side. She stepped back and gulped as she saw the old wall had been slashed down along with the ground she had just taken a step at.

She couldn't see what happened, nor did she understand how it happened.

All she knew was that it was a warning to not step out of her boundaries.

The trail of purple lines on the ground seemed to be poisonous, as they left a pungent smell in her nostrils.

"Leave, the boy is under my protection from now on…"

"If you or the one who sent you came for him…"

Boom!

Sina jumped back as she saw the old wall crumble beside her.

"Alright, alright, I got it… Stop attacking me!"

She soon turned back into strings of flesh and trailed away, leaving the broken old walls behind.

As her figure left, a small laugh echoed in the alley.

"...Idiot."