Chapter 79: A Dilemma (1)

Chapter 79

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Asher’s head raced as the flood of memories continued pouring into his mind like water from a broken tap.

Each memory brought with it an excruciating amount of pain that threatened to rip his skull apart.

Jayden smirked.

He settled comfortably into the chair despite being tied up, his crimson eyes burning with an eerie light.

His fingers slowly twisted around each other as he hummed a soft tone to himself.

Meanwhile, Asher was practically going through hell.

Memories of himself and his family moving to Vespers came rushing back.

The stereo playing an unfamiliar tune—the same song he had heard recently on the morning of his final exams.

The same song Jayden was now humming silently.

Moving to Vespers.

The strange occurrences.

Almost being killed by Nuel.

Being saved by the mysterious woman.

Then came the information about the Nightmares.

The encounter with the Shadow God.

His family dying one by one.

And everything that happened to them afterward.

Losing his sister had driven him into despair, pushing him to attempt to take his own life by consuming a bunch of sleeping pills and entering his own Nightmare.

Then came the memories of his time here.

The memories that had been suppressed.

The warmth he felt from the family he had lost in reality.

The safety.

The happiness.

No Vespers.

There was no curse.

No Nightmares.

Just a peaceful life with his loving family.

Asher watched everything play out before him like he was watching a movie.

Every moment.

Every memory.

Every piece of his life.

Everything culminated to this point.

And soon—

The memories stopped.

Asher was left breathless and panting.

Beads of sweat rolled down his temples as his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

His mind was still reeling from the sheer weight of everything he had just remembered.

Then, flashes of his family’s deaths appeared once more.

One by one.

"Mu-mu-mum? Jay-Jayden? Dad? Jesse?" he called out softly, his lips trembling.

Their dead faces flashed through his mind.

His grip on the lighter loosened.

Clatter—!

It slipped from his hand and fell to the ground beside him.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

Then they began rolling down his cheeks.

"No, no, no.... It’s-it’s fake. Those were fake memories. If-if you can suppress and erase memories, you can definitely give new one—"

"Is it fake, though?"

Jayden’s voice interrupted him.

"No."

His expression remained calm.

"Ask yourself, kid. Was that fake? You know deep down that those were real."

His words didn’t seem to be coming from his mouth anymore.

Instead, his voice sounded as though it were bouncing around the entire room, surrounding Asher from every direction.

The others watched silently.

Asher clutched his thighs as tears rolled down his face in waves.

"You are right. You are in a sleep-like state, and that’s because you are in a Nightmare. My own special Nightmare."

Jayden’s voice carried a strange finality.

It boomed through the room far louder than it should have.

"...."

Asher blinked.

Slowly, he lifted his head and stared directly at Jayden.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Yo-You were the one in the-the void?"

"...."

Jayden’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Yes."

He leaned back slightly in the chair.

"But this isn’t my real form. You are still weak and unworthy to behold my real form, so I’m merely using your br... fake brother as a vessel."

Asher’s teeth gnashed tightly as he glared at the figure before him.

"Wh-What do you want with me? Wh-What’s this Nightmare?!"

Jayden smiled for a moment before shrugging as far as his body allowed him due to the ropes.

"I just want to help you, kid. You lost your family because of the Shadow God."

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Asher.

"And before you ask, I’m not the Shadow God. I’m the creator, overseer, and governor of this Nightmare."

He paused briefly.

"Throughout the decades I have been doing this, out of the five people that have come through here, none sur—"

"—I said, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT WITH ME?! WHY DO THIS TO ME?!"

Asher shouted at the top of his lungs.

"...."

Jayden paused for a moment, then his brows knit almost immediately.

"You better lower your voice when you speak to me, human. Tsk."

After exhaling slowly while staring into Asher’s furious eyes, he continued.

"Like I said; I want to help you. You lost your family because of the curse of Vespers. But as you can see, I was able to bring them back in this Nightmare.

You lived happily with them for two years, and you said it yourself; this was the life you wanted, and you were happy and content.

So here; you can live here forever. And if you agree, I will just wipe your memories of your previous family and life in Vespers while you start all over again here with your family."

Jayden thought for a moment before adding:

"....Without the whole memory suppression and erasure, of course. So what do you say? I know you want to stay, don’t you?"

Asher gritted his teeth tightly as tears continued rolling down his cheeks.

His eyes slowly moved across the room.

He examined the faces of each and every one of his family members tied to the chairs.

His father.

His mother.

Jayden.

Jesse.

They were all there.

Alive.

Just like they had been for the past two years.

Jayden watched him silently for a moment before speaking again.

"Oh. Yes. You are right. If you kill yourself and burn this house with you, you will wake up. The goal of this Nightmare was to escape, and in doing what you planned, you will really escape."

Jayden paused.

Then he tilted his head to the side, his crimson eyes flashing for a moment.

"...But is that really what you want?"

His voice became heavier.

"If you light that fire, you will lose your family for the second time."

Asher’s pupils trembled.

"You will be killing your family with your own very hands."

Jayden leaned forward slightly against the ropes binding him to the chair.

"Is that what you WANT?!"

His voice suddenly erupted.

"HUH, ASHER?! TELL ME!"

His crimson eyes burned into Asher.

"DON’T YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY AGAIN?!"

His expression twisted into a wide grin.

"SO TAKE IT! TAKE MY CHARITY AND BE HAPPY!"

"...."

"Argh!"

Asher groaned in pain as he squeezed his hands tightly.

His fingernails dug into his palms.

Tears still rolled down his face, but his mind churned relentlessly as he stared at the options laid before him.

The plan had been much easier to execute when he thought he was returning to his family in reality.

He had believed that once he escaped this Nightmare, he would return to them.

To his real family.

To the people he had lost.

But now—

Now...

It was much harder.

"What are you—"

Asher suddenly snapped his head upward and stared daggers at Jayden.

"No. I refuse to stick with this fake family you con—"

"—Fake?"

Jayden interrupted, lifting a brow.

"Who said they were fake?"

"...?!"

"Wha—?!"

Asher froze.

Jayden’s smile widened.

"Yes. They are real."

Asher’s expression stiffened.

"You see; what I did was go into your memories and, in the process, I found a universe where your family’s alive."

Asher’s breathing stopped for a moment.

"The only issue is that the Asher there was killed in an accident on his way back from somewhere, so I sent your soul into his body."

Jayden’s lips twitched before cracking open into a wide smile.

"So..."

His crimson eyes narrowed.

"What do you say now that you know they’re real?"

"...."