CHAPTER 4: MEMORIES

“Ẏ̴̱ô̸͙̼ủ̸͇ c̴̀̐á̵̤͛n̵͆ ̶͠sè̴͔e̶̛̽ ̶̘̖̉m̶͑̐e…” It said, in a gargled and slightly mocking tone.

Soren simply stared back into its abyssal eyes with a blank expression on his face. Although his emotions had been stripped away, his ability to think had still not been. Though he doubted that would last for long.

Whatever this thing is, it seems to enjoy messing with its food. Why is it trying to converse and not consume more of my emotions? Motivation behind my thoughts is still present, regardless of my current indifference.

Like a spectator, he scrutinized the 'child's' face and other features more closely. Beyond the unnaturally pale skin, there were a few other significant features that caught his attention. Both of its ears were pointed, resembling an elf, but they were also marred with countless blemishes. From the ear to the left, a viscous black fluid seeped out slowly, similar to what was trickling out from the entity's eyes. The other ear appeared to be very damaged or injured; noticeable scars could be seen even from a distance, as if someone was trying to rip it off.

He also noticed that the tentacles wrapping around him were somewhat see-through. Although, he wasn't completely sure if that was simply the effect of his skill or not.

Could this thing be some kind of ghost or spirit? Since the being was able to talk, he decided to ask it directly.

"What exactly are you?"

A child-like laughter rang across the fractal-flooded meadow. "I̷̓ d̷͎͘o̴n̷̤̈́'ṫ̷ ̶̬̀kn̶͝o̸͐ẃ̸.̷͘.̵.̷̽ͅ"

Soren tilted his neck slightly. "You don't know?" Could it be trying to consume me to understand more about itself? No, it might simply be trying to find a new meaning for itself through my memories and emotio—

Suddenly, his string of thoughts disappeared. Like a puff of smoke, they dissipated in the wind, as if the bonds connecting them to him had weakened. And yet, he knew for a fact that he did have those thoughts. The memory still existed. He observed the child's lips slowly curling up into a smile.

"I see, so you consumed my string of thoughts. Interesting."

The entity didn't reply. It simply dug its skin-like tentacles into his body much more deeply than before.

Soren realized that time was running out. He had to think of something quick to escape this predicament. If the creature before him managed to consume even his motivation for thought itself, he might never even find it in him to escape his own death. It had already proved itself capable of such feats.

Let's analyze things from the beginning. I first heard its laughter around the exact time I gained consciousness. The pain ringing in my head at the time made it very hard to distinguish, but it was definitely there.... Whatever this thing is, it must have clung to me at that moment, and managed to steal a portion of my hearing without me noticing. But how did I recover my hearing then? Did it simply give it back to me to mess around? No, there had to have been something that caused my hearing to return…

His mind was racing with ideas—Soren realized that the entity consuming his fear might have been a blessing in disguise. Without it, he might have been panicking at this very crucial moment.

It seems the process of consuming thoughts, emotions, and senses is not gradual, but instantaneous. It completely eradicated my sense of smell in an instant, rather than diminishing it scent by scent. There is clearly an interval to this... If I can grasp that, I will know how much time I have left before I am doomed…

The key to escaping this predicament must be the same one I used to restore my hearing. What exactly did I do just before my hearing returned that could have triggered it? I can't remember... His thoughts froze. He can't remember? Did it not just happen to him? The only possible conclusion he could reach, aside from the possibility that he was somehow a dementia patient, was that the memory of the event had been consumed without him noticing.

15 seconds have passed between consuming my thoughts and consuming this memory fragment. Is that thing getting faster? It was indeed becoming faster at consuming him. And from what he could remember of the previous consumptions, it was getting exponentially faster. He knew by now that he probably had less than a minute left before the creature consumed everything.

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Since the memory of the event is gone, I have to instead, piece together a conclusion of what happened, and fast. What exactly could I have done at that time to cause my hearing to return? What events happened before then? I remember picking up a book... Ah yes, my Soul Weapon—The Records. I remember there was a status sheet showcasing all my information. Wasn't there a title denoting my status as a 'Traveler' too? There was also a section titled Vocation, and mine was apparently 'Scribe'... Ah, there were skills mentioned too…

Knowing myself, wouldn't the first thing I would do is try to test those skills?

It was a simple guess, but one that came with a gamble. Maybe it was due to him being a 'Spectator' in his own body, but he could think much more retrospectively about himself in this current state.

[Eyes of the Fairy] is what I am currently using to see this... Thing. There was also another skill mentioned... Something to do with chronicle? What was it…

Even if I don't remember the name anymore, my abilities are clearly activated through thought. So what if I just think of chronicling something right now? His eyes shifted to the entity wrapping itself around him.

Like this thing in front of me, for example.

Suddenly, the glowing book in his hands, which he had momentarily forgotten about, began to glow once more. Blanketed in a sheet of golden light, the ethereal flame like pages turned swiftly until they stopped on one peculiar page. A fountain pen immersed in fog manifested itself and began to write strange symbols across the shimmering empty chapter. Soren's eyes refocused beyond the flood of fractals, observing the strange glyphs being etched in golden light.

The once cold smile present on the child's face warped into a frown. "N̷̫̑ó̵̥.̶̹͆.̶͖̒.̶̦͝"

Soren felt his lips curling up into a smile; his emotions were returning to him. "I am feeling.... Happy?" His smile widened. He didn't know what exactly he was feeling at that moment. Was it relief? Hope? Or just pure joy? He could only describe it as a sense of euphoria. It felt as though all the weight on his shoulders had vanished, and if he lifted his feet just slightly off the ground, he would float in absolute bliss indefinitely.

"It seems my hypothesis was correct! Chronicling information somehow had the effe—"

His thoughts trailed off into a dead end. Why?... His eyes stared at the entity coldly once more. It was frowning deeply. "M̵̞̍u̸s̵̑t̸ ̵̂c̵o̷n̷s̴̚ǘ̶m̴͒ë̶́.̸͑.̸̊."

Must consume, it says?... But my emotions returned... Ah, did it manage to consume my memory of its existence?.. The effects of my skill must have been canceled... I don't remember the features I chronicled about it... His thoughts suddenly became sluggish. He could no longer even feel the motivation to think anymore. A wave of indifference crashed against his body, and now he was fully submerged in it. A drowning man that knows he could not swim back up to the surface.

"I... guess... I lost..." he muttered. His eyes slowly began to shudder as if the weight of an entire mountain pressed down on his eyelids. His mind had finally given up. So what if he was consumed? It did not matter to him one bit. Death felt much more comfortable, anyway…

The entity slowly wriggled its tentacles in a dance around Soren's body, smiling once more.

"I̷ w̵ȉ̵n̸.̵.̴.̸͒."

With its abyssal eyes, it watched as Soren's body turned cold and limp. There was no resistance left in its prey. Despite the minor challenges this one posed compared to other humans it had consumed, it was still the victor in the end. The emptiness it felt inside could finally be filled—restoring the hole in its existence. The memories of this human were quite delectable. Memories of past lovers, caring grandparents, an interesting board game, and even the joy of entering an institution called a 'University.' Such peculiar memories, unlike anything it had consumed before…

And yet it knew that there was much more to this peculiarity—that there had to be another reason it was attracted to this lowly human from oh so far... What exactly was it? His memories were clearly far more interesting than anything it had consumed before, but why did it feel like there was more to it than that…

And so, it drew its spiritual breath once more, inhaling the sweet, sweet nectar it was drawn to in the first place. The memories of that lowly human continued to seep out into its body, one breath at a time. It was only on the last breath that it felt it—the thing it was seeking all along. Hidden in that human were memories more delectable than anything it had ever consumed before.

Memories that instantly killed it.

The moment the entity breathed in this final bundle of memory fragments, it felt its own existence fracturing to pieces. And yet, it did not care. For the briefest of seconds, it felt whole again. This was not something it had expected, but the madness contained within those memories was akin to a bright light luring insects to their deaths.

"Ä̷̺́H̸͎͝Ḫ̴͊H̵̪͌H̵̞̕H̴̪̅Ḥ̷̊H̵͖̉H̵̝͗!"

It no longer knew whether it had perished in absolute bliss or in the festering flames of madness and chaos. Or maybe… Both.