CHAPTER. 137: THE PRICE OF MY LIFE (PART 5)

My mind whirled ⁠— spun in utter confusion as I just stared; baffled and tense. I braced myself with the spear, looking at the corrupted being at the end of the room as if I had just gone insane. The room itself had blotches of corruption strewn about, as if it had been attacked and whipped all around. Meanwhile, the corrupted being, Asok, looked me up and down and then nodded.

“I can understand your… reaction.”

I really hadn’t misheard. The voice was corrupted, but rang clear for my ears to hear, and the mannerisms from the monster were… clearly human. Needless to say, I was stupefied. I opened my mouth, trying to say something but in the end all I could do was make a question:

“What… are you…?”

The being paused, staring at me before it placed its hand on his chin. It rubbed, corrupted flakes going into the air before nodding.

“I’m not sure, I was once a human but… now I’m this,” he gestured. “I’d like to say I’m fully sentient, but there are times when… the world becomes black and when I wake up there is destruction everywhere.” He tilted his head. “I think that’s an accurate descriptor.”

“Right… so you turn into a mindless beast sometimes?”

A chuckle echoed. “Based on my research; yes.”

“Right…”

My mind was still processing what the fuck was happening. I was still very much reeling from the shock of meeting a corrupted being that was… alive. Or, whatever it was. I didn’t really understand it.

“Anyway,” he interrupted, “what brings you here?”

I stared. Should I answer…? My thoughts ran wild for a few moments before I sighed.

“I found some papers with writing on them, they led me to this place.” I shook my head, showing my corrupted hand. “I’m trying to find a way to stabilize the corruption, more specifically corrupted mana; I want to turn it all into arcane magic.”

Asok, the monster, stared at my hand for a few seconds in silence before it turned to look at the ceiling.

“How interesting… so my research led you here.”

I paused.

“So… you’re the man that left the notes behind…” I didn’t really know how to feel; if his research had ended up turning him into a corrupted monster with sentience, then… this was the last path I wanted to take.

“I am, yes. My research should be able to help you, but…”

“But?” I raised my brow.

“If you were to fail in the process you’ll become a being just like me. Neither human, nor corrupted, but an inbetween. Even though I’m essentially immortal, this is not a fate I’d wish upon anyone.”

I frowned. “So you… are a failed experiment?”

“I’m my own failed experiment,” he corrected. “It’s not as simple as you’d think. I’d try to explain it, but…”

“But?”

“You’re still pointing that corrupted spear at me; a terrifying artifact may I add.” He gestured.

I blinked, and looked down. I was gripping the spear with all my strength, and my left hand had started to bleed from holding onto the shaft for too long.

“Oh…”

◇ ◇ ◇

I put away the spear, but most importantly, I dealt with the corruption on my left hand. The process was observed by Asok with utmost curiosity.

“What an interesting procedure, did you come up with it?”

“No.” I shook my head. “The Hero of Arlas did.”

“Never heard of him,” he answered in a beat. “Is he also in this place?”

“Yeah.”

“How interesting.” He pondered. “When I came to this world, there was no one; in fact, half of the ruins littering the outside didn’t exist. Eons have passed since then, I’ve watched civilizations come and⁠— collapse.”

“Do you know what this place is?” I decided to ask.

He took a breath, staring at the ceiling.

“Sort of,” he began. “When I was young, my father told me that the runes were just the beginning, that this power was for us to take. When I was young, my mother told me that we’d become greater than the stars ⁠— through the new-found power our race would become eternal, like we were always meant to be.”

“But when I looked, there was no glory. No greater magic. No future. No destiny. Just a dying world, devoid of the brilliance it was never meant to hold⁠— what a thing? To look forward to a future that never existed.”

I stared.

“When the tragedy came upon us, and when the last star died, my father told me that this place is where worlds come to die. Overtaken by the power of ruin, the power of the corruption that befell our predecessors, and the progenitors to come.” He shook his head. “There was never glory, only an eternal damnation for our sins, for trying to tamper with the laws of nature themselves.”

“But you still did…”

“I was… lucky, I was the only person to live out of my entire race. And to some extent, I succeeded, but unfortunately, it takes a lot more to break nature itself.” He turned to me. “This endeavor you’re after, it is very much possible, but it also requires impossibility.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I tried to piece together what he was saying, but in the end all I could do was let out a long sigh.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“There is far too much to explain…” He shook his head. “What is your name? I’ll reintroduce myself, I’m Asok, the Golden Researcher.”

“I’m Arc… the Heroine of Frost.”

“Interesting title,” he mused. “You seem to be a lot stronger than me back then, so perhaps you’ll be able to do it. However, there is not much time left, so please follow me. I want to be able to help you to the best of my abilities.”

“Right…” I stared as he began to walk towards one of the many doorways.

I still… didn’t really trust him. I wanted to do so, but… it was hard.

“Why?” I called. “Why did you suddenly decide to help me?”

He paused. “There is no greater joy for a scientist like me to succeed in their research. And even though I don’t know your reasoning, who you are, or why I should even help you or trust that you won’t kill me, one thing is for certain: I see you as a way to absolve myself of my own failure.”

With those words, he entered the room, leaving me there standing. Once more, I was confused, but this time, I decided to take his words at face value. The man seemed… tired to some extent. He spoke with a hint of regret and nostalgia all throughout. Perhaps he wasn’t telling the truth, or maybe he was just telling a half truth, but I decided that… I’d trust him⁠ ⁠— as much as I could.

Grabbing So’las’ Spear, I followed him into the room.

Much to my surprise, he began to gesture to papers, telling me to grab this and that. Not bothering to explain or do something else. And once I was done picking up a pile, he moved onto the next room.

This process continued for what felt like an hour, all of the papers being gathered in a single office-like room at the end of the building, its door fortified and coated in corruption for an odd reason. Though, when I asked him, he said it was for my safety.

And once we ransacked the building, he told me to follow him outside. He moved up the mountain without words, before jumping onto the roof of one of the towers of the building. I, of course, followed, though much more tense than before.

He looked over the barren and ruined landscape; at the vast graveyard of worlds that laid before us.

“It is said that this place had once been the World of the Eternals, but they pushed their System so much that it malfunctioned.” He breathed. “And this is the result of that. Every other world that has any relation with a seed of the original System suffers the same fate.”

“Right…” I nodded. “I knew some of that.”

“In order to overcome the corruption, we must take it and modify it; turn it into what it once had been. You called it arcane magic, we called it true magic. It’s what was originally used in the World of the Eternals.” He looked ahead. “In all my research, it’s the only form of stable corruption, or… so I thought.” He shook his head. “I tried to acquire a body of such a time but this was the result.”

“Right, I don’t want that⁠—”

“But you’ll have to.” He turned to me. “Your hand⁠— your whole body has been tainted. Sooner or later, you’ll be consumed by the corruption even if you amputate yourself. Like a cancer that won’t ever stop.”

“Right…”

“Not only that, but it will interfere with the arcane magic. Turning your mana into… the arcane shouldn’t be difficult, but the other process requires… great resolve and unwavering will. Something that I thought I had, but that I ultimately didn’t have enough of.”

“Right…”

He shook his head. “That is why I’ve gathered all my research notes, so you can learn and be able to initiate the process of becoming something greater.”

I stared as he turned to look at the vast distance. He had no expression, for he was just a man-shaped corrupted thing, but even then I felt a sense of longing.

“I really hope you succeed with all of the information there. You should go now, make sure to read the red paper first.”

“Go?” I blinked. “Red paper?”

“It is starting. I won’t be conscious for much longer⁠—” he grunted, a corrupted screech resounding. “Good luck⁠—”

A groan left him. I stared for a moment, and then⁠— corruption exploded. Like a torrent of everything, it went flying everywhere as my eyes widened. I had to get out.

[God Step]— and it didn’t do anything.

My eyes widened in horror as I saw the true shape of Asok, his body had split apart into a mass of tendrils, the corruption emanating from it quickly began corroding the ground and taking it. I immediately turned only to feel danger⁠— I ducked.

A whipping noise exploded in the air, the space it had touched above me flickered after the fact, but I had no time to think as I immediately rolled. Three whips striking the place where I had once been.

My heart-rate immediately increased ten-fold, feeling the danger permeating my surroundings. It was akin to a Twisted Thing, but somehow, stronger.

What… kind of failure must he have experienced to end up like… that?

My eyes widened, and I blocked⁠— the spear let out a horrid noise as I was sent flying towards the mountain. Dust exploded, the dirt caved and I coughed violently in pain, but I still quickly recovered as I dodged out of the way.

I didn’t want to fight⁠— what if Asok regained consciousness? I still had so many questions to ask him.

And so, I slid down the mountain, numerous tendrils coming for me as I repelled them with the spear. My hands moved on their own, and my mind processed every sign of danger as I either crushed it, dodged it, or managed to make the hit not be as bad.

I quickly rolled downhill, arriving near the building as a tentacle struck my shoulder⁠— I screamed feeling the bones immediately turn to dust but I still ran. I ran ignoring every hit and somehow managing to dodge the lightning fast attacks. Somehow, it was rather slow for its strength, which I used to my advantage.

I quickly made my way into the building as the tentacles struck the edges of its entrance. Markings just like the ones inside being left. And then⁠— a tentacle exploded beneath me, latching onto my ice leg and breaking it off.

I tripped, rolling across the ground as the mass of tentacles quickly entered the building.

Fuck. I grabbed onto the spear my mana entered as I flinched. I didn’t want to do it again⁠ but—

And I screamed.

“[World Piercer]!”

The spear blurred in my hands, and the tentacles, even Asok vanished as a screech resounded. I gritted my teeth and turned around, limping towards the door. I didn’t know if it had died or not⁠—

And another corrupted screech echoed, my heart skipped and my ice leg grew in a blink. Then, with a jump, I leapt into the room and slammed the switch with my arm. The door immediately swung down. A shriek resounded, and three amputated tentacles landed on top of me.

I blinked, and the door rattled with hits for a few moments before it grew silent.

A sigh left me.

“What the fuck was that…?”

I shook my head and pushed the tentacles off, also got a change of clothes and treated my wounds. My shoulder was absolutely obliterated, but it would hopefully recover in a few days. And so, nursing myself the best I could, I finally took the room I was left in.

I looked at the long desk, which took most of the rectangular shaped room. It lined the wall, filled to the brim with notes and papers. There was a single chair, and to the right there were shelves while to the left there seemed to be equipment.

“What did he even mean with red paper?”

I began to go through the papers, my heart still beating, until finally I found a literal red page. Its color closer to pink, but the writing in it was clearly visible. It’s title was:

How to Ascend.

I read through a complicated ritual, one that required a myriad of knowledge in preparations and stuff I didn’t understand, but the last part made me pause.

‘The final step is:

‘Die a glorious battle against the corruption and fight it in the afterlife, destroying the wretched energy that is trying to overtake your body. Only then, will ascension be possible.’

It was… insanity.