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Chapter 5: New World III

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The previous body's host followed his family's way of absorbing a specific variant in environments where it's plentiful.

Val, on the other hand, chose something a bit different. He chose what interests him the most and what will benefit him the most according to the previous host's memories, that being darkness, blood, Ice.

So he did just that. He focused on those three ether variants while ignoring everything else and simply started to pull them in, closer and closer to him.

It all works through one's will and as he noticed, willpower is a big part of ether seeking as that's how seekers control the ether.

However, that willpower can only slightly influence the ether within one's soul curtain which is why it usually takes long amounts of time for seekers to pull ether into their heart.

That however is not the hard part as the next part is where many take a long time to get used to and get right.

Val then focused on willing all the ether that enters his body to flow into his heart then naturally flow through his bloodstream following his every heartbeat.

It's said that this method was invented even before the ancient gods created the Ether Seeking system and it's still the standard practice method to this day due to its practicality and the fact that it's the most optimal method for seekers in this sequence.

That allows the ether energy to reach every cell that's possible to reach through the bloodstream, and it especially strengthens one's heart which is a necessary step for the next sequence though that's still far away.

It's also important to note that the more familiar seekers become with the ether, the easier it will be for them to sense it and influence it thus what makes reaching the next phase possible.

That's due to the fact that awakening one's soul curtain could only be done through controlling the ether outside of one's body to an optimal degree.

And just like that, about half an hour passed before Val stopped his meditation and entered the integration process, and he wasn't surprised to be awakened to the feeble begging of his friendly neighbor.

"Please... Just stop please..." His voice was strangely hoarse as if he's thirsty or he's been yelling for days.

'Hmm, perhaps he's thirsty? Yeah, it's definitely that.' Val nonsensically thought in his mind as he very much appreciated how weak-minded his neighbor is.

His next thought however was even more bizarre, especially considering his purpose...

'I'll have to thank him after this end... In fact, I should give the best gift I can give even if it bankrupts me...'

Val finally decided to communicate with his target as he responded with a confused tone, seemingly just paying attention to the feeble voice coming from beyond his cell.

"Hm? What?" The strange young man wondered.

His neighbor who had no hope of getting an answer was thoroughly surprised hearing the confused mumbling, a faint mutter but in such a place where sounds are rarely heard, he picked up that mumbling immediately.

"Hii? I mean please stop knocking on the door!!" The neighbor was similarly disoriented at first but then he got his bearing back, remembering all the suffering that simple action of the other mysterious prisoner caused.

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"Hm?? Why?" The response he received bewildered him and even angered him.

After all the sleepless nights and all of his suffering since getting sent to this shithole, he simply couldn't handle it anymore and released his frustration on the target before him.

Those noises were but a mere part of his frustration, the last straw and the beginning of his breakdown.

"Why you ask?!! WHyy?? Knocking on the door all day and night long and you wonder why!! I have enough problems on my own and then you come in!!! Not allowing me to sleep or even... or even..."

And then there was silence, a long not so comforting silence until his target of frustration responded with a dull voice, "I was? Oh, I guess I really was... Sorry, I will stop."

His voice was flat as if all the screaming wasn't registered in his mind at all, as if he's but a broken doll.

That brought a surprise to the friendly neighbor as he got his senses back, realizing he lost control of his emotions, that and Val's dull response caused him to instinctively apologize, "Sorry, I lost myself for a bit there..."

The friendly neighbor waited and waited yet he heard no response. There was only silence and god doesn't he hate silence, it always causes him to think about those mind-breaking possibilities.

So he softly asked with his lips trembling and throat hurting still from all the previous screaming, "Hi? Are you still there? Can you hear me? You're okay, right? "

He asked a question and followed with several, noticing no response and he still got no reply.

He remained silent for a few minutes before saying in a barely audible voice, "You can knock on the door again if you want..."

And that finally pulled a response out of the strange man as the latter asked thoroughly confused, "Why?"

The friendly neighbor didn't seem to want to answer the simple question as he mumbled with a voice loud enough to be heard, "It doesn't matter, just do what you want."

The strange man remained silent for a bit before he again started his routine, with his pale index finger tapping on the door though to the friendly neighbor, it sounded like he's knocking on the door.

He couldn't imagine that an ether seeker would be held a prisoner right next to him, after all, seekers have their own special leach and prison no matter how weak they are.

That went on for a while until the friendly neighbor asked unable to hold his curiosity, "Why? Why were you knocking on the door all this time? I'm just curious by the way so you can continue doing it..."

By this point, it became quite apparent that he wanted to hear that knocking sound even more than its causer as he fell right into the spider net prepared for him without realizing it.

Val knew full well that it is easier to manipulate someone if you lead them to think they actually started the conversation but he took it even further and made his target actually be the one to start the conversation.

'Weak-minded people huh, how can one not love them? They're the nicest people in the entire existence.' Val then stopped his tapping and stood up.

Then he silently moved to the left of the door, the fact that he's barefoot made that easier.

And only then did he answer the question in that same usual dull voice while taking his dirty white shirt off, "I don't know?? Oh yeah... It's because of that."

His voice was strangely fearful by the end of his answer which the friendly neighbor easily picked as he questioned further, even more curious, "Because of what??"

Val on the other had a calm expression on his face as he bound the shirt all over his right hand and silently approached a certain corner of the cell.

His hand then became a blur as he targeted the victim of his attack. He quickly tied the shirt together, leaving no holes for the strangely big rat to escape.

Well, he strangely didn't give it a chance as he squeezed the shirt together, putting pressure on the mouse until it suffocated without allowing it to release any sound.

He then threw the tied shirt with the mouse in it to the far side of the cell.

Only after all of that did he bother responding to his friendly neighbor, "I don't remember."

Long gone was his fearful tone as his dull voice returned to him only after he started tapping on the metallic door again, seemingly restoring his dullness.

The friendly neighbor seemed to understand something, 'He's like me? He also wants to forget everything else, he doesn't want to think about what could be happening outside... Will I become like him?'

The thought of that terrified him, the thought of forgetting everything, 'I don't want to forget... but I also don't want to remember...'

The friendly neighbor was brought out of his thought at the sudden absence of the knocking sound which was directly followed by the strange man's sound.

"How can I not remember? Of course, I remember... You made me remember. I've been held in here for a long time, a lot of things must've happened outside, none of them are good, that I'm sure of."

Val's tone was that of a lost person, dull and dead as if he's slowly losing the last straw of his attachment to life itself.

"Hehehe, I should thank you for making me remember and get myself back... Now I know what to do."

The friendly neighbor didn't understand much of what he was hearing, but a hunch was telling him to listen no more as a sense of dread slowly started seeping into the depths of his bones...