Chapter 6

Family reunion

In front of him stood an unknown man whose body consisted only of thick black smoke. But his face was quite bizarre, as he had no eyes, only a mouth and a nose. With a smile on his face, he tried to approach Mana, who in return answered him with a cold stare and instinctively, his white hair stood up in the air, ready to attack.

“My lord, I apologize for frightening you. That was not my intention.”

Mana hesitated to speak, trying to find the right words. “I... I am not your lord. My body is just a vessel for your god.”

“The old Mana is gone and all that remains is a fragment of him that has fused with my lord’s soul. You are my lord.”

“What do you mean?”

“I assume he told you that the litha water is the reason you lost your memory.” Mana nodded. “It caused a part of your soul and my lord’s being destroyed and it’s only a matter of time before the two souls merge. A situation like this is very rare and if it comes to that, the chances of one soul being absorbed by the other are quite high. Has anyone told you about this?”

He wanted to say yes, but he knew deep down that it would be a lie. It was a pretty important detail that shouldn’t have been left out, and yet the boy had learned it straight from the person who was supposed to be his enemy.

Upon the sight of his confused expression, the man laughed. “I suppose that’s not the case.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I am just a loyal disciple who wants to help his master, thus my only goal is to release him. But I can’t do that without your help.”

He didn’t trust him, but his curiosity pushed him to listen. What he wanted was to find out as much information as he could and, for the moment, it didn’t matter where it came from. Nevertheless, Mana remained cold as he tried to show little interest. “What do I gain?”

“Your body and mind. I want to release my lord from your body before it fuses with you. However, it’s been many years since you used litha water and the fusion could have already begun. But it’s not too late.”

“Your lord stole my body and now you’re saying he suddenly doesn’t need it?”

“My lord was wrongfully imprisoned there! But you have no way of remembering that because you have no memory.” The man moved closer to him until there were only inches between them. “You are nothing but a puppet to be used until it breaks. Is this how you want to live your life?’

“And you have your reasons. It’s not like you care about me.”

“You’re right. I have my reasons, but I’m honest enough to share them with you.”

Mana seemed genuinely interested in the offer but was still hesitant, not because he didn’t want to, but because he knew what would happen to him if he got caught. His opinion mattered little in that situation, and any misstep could give them a reason to kill him.

“I won’t ask you to do anything dangerous because I know what kind of beasts surround you. Just listen to me. I will save you, but I need time.”

Mana’s attention was caught by a strange sound and he didn’t realize what it was until he turned his back. There was the body of a boy hanging lifelessly from an enormous creature that resembled a centipede whose jaw was deeply embedded in its neck. Or so he thought before noticing that the creature had actually emerged from his neck. He couldn’t quite make out what it was because of the dark fog around him, which prevented him from seeing it in the first place. All he could see was a creature with a long snake-like body that had extremely many limbs tightly wrapped around the young man to immobilize him.

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But the scariest thing was the sight of that monster tearing his flesh to shreds using its powerful mandibles while the boy stood still and his only reactions were small involuntary movements of his muscles. And it goes on until most of the flesh on his legs was eaten away, leaving the bone exposed.

Bound around his body were reddish threads that emanated a strange energy, familiar enough to give him a shiver. An interesting thing was that thing only ate the flesh in places where there was the least red thread. But that wasn’t the only thing familiar about the scene in front of him. His green eyes were more than he needed to recognize him.

“What’s he doing here?”

“He’s where he should be, since this is his subconscious.”

“Then... Is that the parasite his teacher was talking about?”

The man burst out laughing and looked at him as if he had heard some silly thing that came out of a child’s mouth. “That’s not a parasite, but a part of his soul that has become aggressive to him. That’s what happens when you try to change something that should be left alone. The real problem is a seal that is tied to one’s soul and makes it weaker, resulting in self-cannibalism. Those red wires are part of the seal that destroyed his soul and brought him to this state a ritual by which a person can fragment their soul to suit their will.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Felix is mostly human but still has the blood of voratomores of descendants from thousands of years ago. He’s been around humans for too long, so it’s only natural to want to be more like them.”

Acheros stopped talking while his expression grew more serious.

Just then, the boy heard a faint echo that sounded like a shout. Mana turned his gaze only to see Felix’s wide-open eyes looking in his direction full of fright. His lips moved slowly as if he wanted to speak, yet not a word came out of his mouth, but a hoarse sound. Felix closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried desperately to scream.

Finally, for the first time, a word left his lips. “H-Hel...“

Felix didn’t finish saying the word because another centipede entered his throat that almost choked him.

“It’s time for you to go. The host is starting to become mentally unstable and I don’t know what he might do next.”

“But-”

“I’ll contact you another time, but right now, you need to leave.”

Mana felt a cold hand rest on his temple, allowing his soul to be transported back into his body. Acheros smiled and turned to the teenager, who was getting more and more agitated. He knew all too well that things would not stay that peaceful.

“Is this how I taught you to behave when you have guests? Or is it something you learned from your mentor?”

“H-Huhrt...”

“I didn’t give you permission to talk. That’s why it hurts. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today or you’d be in a lot worse situation.” The arm-sized centipede slipped out of his throat, finally allowing him to breathe. The boy collapsed to the ground, spitting out a viscous black liquid. “What’s that face? Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“I’ll be happy when...” Felix leaned on his back, struggling to catch his breath. “...you’ll be gone."

The man bent down and grabbed him by the braided hair and lifted him to his level. “I’m your father. You should be grateful just for bringing you into this world."

“For what did you bring me into this world? To use me as you please, right? I’m not your son, but just a nameless body to use when yours becomes useless.”

“You are part of me, body and soul, and whether you like it or not, you will have to return to the one who created you. It is the course of life that many before you have accepted with dignity. All of them are happy now. It is only you who thinks you are special.”

“They are all dead!”

“Of course, you’re much better. You think Anki cares about you? You go through all this pain for what? Do you think you’re getting away with it? That’s what you think, isn’t it?” His father lifted his chin to get a better look at his eyes. “I’m gonna get my body back, you hear me? No matter how many times you die, your soul is tied to me. Not even a god can save you from that.”

His long fingers wiped the tears from his cheek and, without realising it, the man fell into a state of daydreaming. It had been so long since he had seen him that he felt his heart fill with joy. His body was there, healthier and stronger than he could have imagined. After so many thousands of years, he would finally have a complete soul and a healthy living body. He touched his son’s eyes, admiring them, trying as much as possible to not pull them out, as he was too impatient.

“You will be the last one, so I will be more understanding with you. Be careful what you do with my body this time.”

These were the last words he heard before he fell into a deep sleep from which he would remember nothing