Elmer only had little understanding of what his ‘twin’ was talking about. In fact, scratch that, he had no understanding at all. And the mention of the clerk of the Glowing Eye bureau had even gone ahead to worsen it.

What had he read in the messenger’s letter that in some way involved Ms. Edna? He could not recall anything of the sort. Had his body’s freeloader lost its mind?

“No! No! No!” the smoky figure squealed, the soft wind-like voice associated with it somewhat strained to the point that it was giving a sound equivalent to that of the harsh rustling of leaves on a windy night. “What is wrong with you?!”

White streaks of fog twirled about restlessly, occasionally vanishing and materializing as an effect of the silhouette’s inhumane speed, while it threw something of an ethereal tantrum about.

Elmer just kept watching it though, despite his confusion, his eyes now affiliated with lessened glints. And whenever the being chose to resurface before him, as though it was attempting to startle him, he would anchor his attention on it with an expression that made it seem like he was unbothered.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Elmer’s ethereal twin questioned, its swirly faceless mask of a face appearing in an instant a bit too close to his.

“No,” Elmer answered in a somewhat flat tone that was in contrast to the answer-seeking thoughts he was having. “Maybe if you stopped throwing a fit and also cut back on being cryptic I would.”

The smoky figure reversed a bit, separating itself from Elmer. “I told you. It’s in the letter. You read it. The information that the messenger sent to you through Craig Wiley…” As it trailed off, Elmer’s right brow turned up with a twitch in sudden realization. He understood what was being spoken about! And in that moment his twin resumed with the words, “…A method to ascend.”

If his emotions had been under his control at this point in time, he would have felt his heart skip a beat before increasing its rate shortly after, and following it up would have been a tingle in his stomach. But due to the nature of the supernatural events surrounding him, as a result of the arrival of the ethereal being floating over his view, he found his body unperturbed.

Although, his mind was different.

That part of him quickly sank in the place of his heart, and with that came countless struggles from Elmer to settle it down.

He quickly tried to piece together what his ‘twin’ and the messenger’s information he had received were insinuating, and, as well, how Ms. Edna tied into it.

And in that regard, he allowed his brain the leeway to bring back the memory of the information that had been sent for him through the dead once-corrupted Craig Wiley.

Three drops of blood of the Echelon’s Ascender and the corresponding ingredient of the pathway. Only one shall live, otherwise, severe consequences shall befall the second of the two if the original retains their life during the process…

Elmer shook his head indistinctly as he kept on replaying the projection of himself reciting those words in his mind, the vague idea he had buried and chosen to pursue later resurfacing.

Just like his ‘twin’ had said, he too had thought of the words written on the letter as something related to a method to ascend when he’d read it. That was before his mind had fallen into turmoil after he’d murdered Craig Wiley. And if it was truly that, then why did the process written on the paper make him feel a very highly suppressed sense of fear—one he felt would have been off the charts if not for his current situation.

Blimey bugger…!

Elmer’s mind wanted to deny the conclusion that had suddenly propped up in his head, but his stable state of consciousness allowed him not. There were no spikes of emotions to cloud his thought process at this point. Every single thing was clear—everything!

To ascend an Echelon rank he’d need three drops of the blood of the Ascender currently in the rank and the ingredient of the pathway he wanted to ascend. He had immediately understood that mixing those things to make an elixir was obviously the direction the letter was heading in.

Then, therein came the main problem.

The words: “Only one shall live, otherwise, severe consequences shall befall the second of the two if the original retains their life during the process…” brought Elmer to the conjecture that for him to ascend into the Echelon 10 of the Pathway of Time using this method, Ms. Edna had to die!

He pinched his eyes shut and shook his head again, this time a lot weaker than before. And it was at that moment that he finally came to a realization on why Eddie had warned him on searching for more information on how to ascend the Echelons, as well as him being tagged as a corrupted one because of it.

This process was sick and twisted. Not taking into consideration if the same rules in Ur applied elsewhere, this method of ascension would cause an enormous outbreak of chaos in the city. It would bring about the death of countless Ascenders, and turn the process of ascension as something akin to jungle justice. The survival of the fittest.

The Church had, most likely, banned it and forbidden any Ascender from using this method. And Elmer could see why.

There was no need to wait for an Ascender to become corrupted, lose a rank, or ascend one, they could just be killed. And furthermore, there was no need to have to go through the ascension deeds to prove oneself worthy of ascending the Echelon ranks, the blood of the dead Ascender would just be used to make an ascension elixir.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It was an aberrant method.

Although, what was he to do in this case?

If this was truly a way to ascend, then it was way faster than waiting for the Church to put out a deed after bad luck befell an Ascender, but… He could not harm Ms. Edna. He couldn’t. How could he do that?

She had a daughter!

“And you have a sister!” The usually soft wind that represented the voice of the floating smoky figure whooshed through Elmer’s ears in a rage before its owner instantly materialized before the boy with conflicting thoughts. “I ask you again: What is wrong with you?”

Elmer’s eyes had opened up already, still without any of its prior glints, but this time a great reluctance was hidden deep within them. His face tensed next, but his ‘twin’ was not yet done.

“To what cause do you feel any attachment to Ms. Edna that even though your emotions have been suppressed you still care so much for her, causing you to resist?” the foggy silhouette barked at Elmer, its constant flights having been put to a halt at the moment.

It seemed frustrated to a level Elmer could not fathom.

“Can’t you really see? You have no choice. This is where you have to make a decision. It’s either Edna Smyth or our sister—our sister! Why do you even have to think about it?! You already know, going through the process of the ‘deeds’ isn’t plausible. Whoever this messenger is served us the chance to join the Pathway of Time and a sure way to ascend it on a silver platter.

“What is even there to think about? You already killed one person already, why stop now?” It halted for a second. “If you’re going to keep being this pathetic then hand over this body right this instant! You keep pouring out words of you wanting to save Mabel, but now that it’s come down to it you hesitate? For whom, a lady you met two weeks ago? Give me this body and I’ll do it all myself. Give me… Now!”

It lunged forward sharply, stopping extremely close, far less than a finger’s length, to Elmer’s contorted face.

Elmer knew all these. The figure didn’t have to spell it all out to him. His thoughts were as clear as day. He was not hesitating because he was pathetic, it was just that… He couldn’t even form the best words in his mind. But putting it in simpler terms, killing Ms. Edna meant he would have to kill Eddie too, and that would be too much for him to handle for one night—killing Craig was already too much for him!

And there were the consequences that would follow after from ascending in such a way. He would be tagged as a corrupted one, and would forever be on the run from Ascenders stronger than him.

Would he even be able to survive, help Mabel in such a state? And most of all, would he be able to stomach ruining Ms. Edna’s and her daughter’s lives?

This was too much to ask from him. He just became an Ascender a couple of weeks ago, and in that span of time he’d already been involved in so many encounters that he felt he should have lost his mind at some point.

And now this?

Why such a method in the first place? Why something so sick, and why was it the only option that he was being given? Why did it have to be this way every time? Why was he never given a choice? Why could he never be allowed several options to pick from? Why?!

It wasn’t fair—to him and to those who he had crossed paths with. It really wasn’t.

“How are we to be sure of this method’s effectiveness?” Elmer asked as an attempt to put a leash on his thoughts. “What if we’re wrong?”

“You think the messenger, a person who sent The Warlock’s Torch your way and helped you become an Ascender of the Pathway of Time, would give you an ineffective method to ascend?”

The silhouette of smoke put forth an ambience of exasperation.

“But let me give your cautiousness the benefit of the doubt. Let’s take the negative into consideration, since we don’t even know this messenger’s purpose and what they want from you. How do you confirm if the method of ascension is ineffective or not?”

Elmer could think of only one answer with every bit of knowledge he had. “By going through with the method…” he mumbled bleakly, his voice even less than a whisper.

“You see. Nothing’s changed. Answers are never given to unasked questions. This is your world now, Elmer, and you best start seeing it for what it is. Only by taking risks and leaps will you be able to get things done. What more do you have to lose?”

Elmer shook his head indiscernibly.

I know… I know… But it’s not about me; it’s not about what I have to lose… It’s about what others will have to lose due to my actions…

“Make a decision now, Elmer,” the being formed from an outline of swirling smoke voiced, his tone making it apparent that even though he could hear Elmer’s thoughts it gave not a single care in the world for what he was worried about. “What’s it going to be? Will you ascend the Echelon ranks to save Mabel, or will you pass the mantle to me? I’m more than glad to take it off your hands—save you the emotional turmoil.”

Elmer momentarily plunged his vision into darkness with a deep exhale.

He understood perfectly—what he had to do—and he had already resolved himself to bring his sister back no matter who he had to walk over to get that goal achieved. It did not matter if they were Ms. Edna or Eddie, as long as they stood between him and his sister’s soul, then he would do whatever was needed.

Yes. He had to. He had to do whatever it took for his little sister…

Elmer opened his eyes and he saw the smoky silhouette fading into the distance, seemingly already of knowledge of his resolution.

Each streak of white from the ethereal being slowly vanished, and when it was upon its final stage then did its wind-like voice creep into Elmer’s ears saying, “I promise you, if you fail, then I’ll make it my own goal to make your life a living hell.”

Those words died down with an echo, the being following suit, and it was at that moment that time was abruptly restored back to the scenery which was the warehouse.

But just as everything became normal, a sudden wave of emotions, seemingly as though they had been bottled up for a very long time and had just been let free, flooded Elmer’s body completely.

In an instant his breath quickened at an absurd pace while his chest tightened and his eyes turned blurry.

The revolver and letter he had been holding slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. A split second later he joined them as a heavy weight of anxiety, one bearing the likeness of two hefty boulders, pressed him down to his knees from his shoulders.

Hyperventilating, Elmer used both his hands to tightly clutch the left compartment of his chest, where his heart was biologically located, as he collapsed to the floor on his side and rolled himself into an irregular human ball.

He had the outlook of a child suffering from a severe panic attack.