Chapter 78: A Way to Wake Up? (2)

Chapter 78

The sound of liquid being poured all around could be heard.

It sounded like a jug of water being emptied everywhere.

The sound was loud and frantic, moving past the room and down the stairs before beginning to travel around the house, one area at a time.

The kitchen.

The dining room.

The living room.

The others’ rooms.

Everywhere possible.

Liquid was being poured across the entire house, and soon, the sound of the empty jug could be heard ricocheting loudly across the ground.

Clatter—!

A foul, heavy smell permeated the air almost immediately, spreading through the house and clinging to every corner.

Crouching down, a boy could be seen meticulously placing small white pebbles that emitted a somewhat pleasant smell.

He placed them directly on the liquid, making sure they traced the path that had been created all around the house.

The pebbles were placed almost like dog treats left out for an animal to feed on.

Two in a single position before he moved from one area to another.

He had a shopping bag filled with these small white pebbles, and one after another, he placed them everywhere the liquid had been emptied.

And soon enough, he was back in his room, where four individuals could be seen seated on wooden chairs.

Each of them was securely tied with sturdy ropes, almost like a bunch of kidnapped victims.

Beneath their feet was a growing pool of liquid.

Walking over, Asher turned the bag in his hand upside down.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

The remaining white pebbles fell to the ground loudly, scattering across the floor and bouncing against one another.

It sounded almost like a pile of coins being dropped onto the ground.

And this was enough to wake the sleeping individuals seated on the wooden chairs.

Their eyes slowly fluttered open.

Their blurry visions gradually cleared as soft groans escaped their mouths.

Their heads pounded faintly, almost as if they had just awakened from a drunken state.

But before their eyes could completely clear, their sense of smell awakened first.

Sniff—! Sniff—!

"Huh? Is this... is this petrol, kerosene, and camphor I smell?!" Jack’s eyes snapped open in realization.

"Ding! Ding." Asher uttered from the corner where he stood.

The others’ eyes snapped open as well, and they immediately looked beneath their chairs.

Their expressions changed almost instantly.

A pool of liquid had gathered beneath their feet.

Even parts of their bodies and clothes were drenched in the same liquid.

And even Asher, who stood about a metre away from them, appeared wet from head to toe.

A trail of the same liquid ran from his legs all the way towards where they were seated.

The trail connected directly with the pool beneath the family’s legs.

"Asher! What is this madness?! Do you want to kill your family?! Are you crazy?!" Jack shouted, fury evident in his voice as he struggled against the ropes binding him.

Asher tilted his head to the side while twirling the lighter in his hand a few times.

Click.

Click.

"Family? You all are fakes! Fakes, I say! My real family definitely don’t have the power to erase my memories.

They would definitely not want to do anything that will hurt me. Not at all!"

Asher inhaled and exhaled slowly, his brows furrowed.

"... I don’t know what you all are, but you are definitely not my family."

Unlike Jack, Jesse, and Clara, who were all beginning to panic, only Jayden remained calm.

"So? What do you hope to achieve with this? What’s your plan?" Jayden questioned with a raised brow.

Asher smiled faintly.

"I’m glad you asked."

He then turned around and walked towards his bed, where he sat at the edge.

Off to his side, he picked up a notebook and spun it around in his hand.

"I have figured out that I need to wake up since I’m in a sleep-like state, right? Yesterday... I realized that this reality was fake. It’s an illusion meant to trap me here.

And I’m meant to live with my loving family, who refuses to leave my side at all and always wants to be with me.

And that’s why Jesse hasn’t been going to school for a while.

If I always check, it’s a weekend.

And whenever I come close to figuring out the truth, my memories are gone."

"....."

Asher looked down at the notebook in his hand before letting out a slow, pained sigh.

".... Pain.... Anytime I try to recall what I might have forgotten, I get a heavy headache that forces me to stop thinking. Hence, I learned to distract my mind with an even greater pain.

Whenever I inflict pain on myself, the pressure in my mind recedes just a bit. Enough for me to recall bits and pieces... and also keep my drifting sanity."

"Okay?" Jayden uttered with a raised brow.

Asher then smiled widely.

"So I figured this... if a little bit of pain can allow me to resist the mental pressure for a while and recall bits and pieces here and there, what would an even greater amount of pain do to me?

Will it make me regain my memories... or will I wake up?"

Asher stood up from the bed and walked back towards the spot where he had been standing earlier.

"Hence, I devised my plan. Before I got home, I purchased this fuel, kerosene, and camphor before sneaking them into the house through my window...."

"How did we fall unconscious?" Jesse asked with a frown on her face.

"That? Well, if you must know, my innocent fake sister... when we were cooking dinner earlier? When I was adding salt, I added sleeping powder into the food. A heavy amount at that."

"Huh? That doesn’t make sense. So why didn’t you fall unconscious?" Clara questioned with a confused expression.

Asher smirked.

"Think I wouldn’t get an antidote? I took the antidote.

I knew Jayden was watching me like a hawk, so I wouldn’t have been able to put it in after I was done cooking. Hence, I did it while I was cooking.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it would work... but I’m glad it did."

Asher let out a soft breath of relief.

Then, with a tired sigh, he stood upright and twirled the lighter once more.

Click.

Click.

He raised it slightly and was about to flick it on.

"I will wake up, take you all to hell, and return to my real fa—"

"—Your family that’s dead?" Jayden questioned with a slight tilt of his head.

"....?!"

Asher faltered immediately.

His entire body froze as his brows twitched in confusion.

Replaying Jayden’s words again and again inside his mind, he slowly lifted his head.

"What—?!"

"Oh. Right. Your memory is gone. Here, let me help you." Jayden smirked.

His eyes immediately turned crimson.

And with a snap of his fingers—

Snap—!

"...."

"Ba....thump...."

A crushing wave of pain instantly crashed into Asher’s skull.

His eyes widened.

And with it came a flood of memories.

Memories from his reality.

Memories from before he had ever entered this strange world.

And memories from the time he had spent trapped inside this place.

Everything came rushing back at once.

"Aaaaaah!"

Asher collapsed to his knees under the overwhelming flood of memories.

His head pounded violently as he clutched his hair with both hands.

Heart, head, and eyes raced in tandem.

Memories he had forgotten.

Memories that had been erased.

Memories that were never meant to return.

They all came rushing back.

And somewhere amidst the overwhelming flood of memories—

Asher finally began to remember.