Chapter 80: A Dilemma (2)

Chapter 80

"....!!!"

Asher’s lips quivered as he scanned the faces of his family.

Jack....

Clara....

Jesse....

And finally, Jayden, who the Nightmare ruler was using as a vessel of sorts.

An alternate universe where his family was alive and well?

A world where he could live safely without the threat or shadow of death following him every step he took?

His fingers ran across the ground before grabbing the lighter tightly.

But now, as he stared at the lighter in his hand, the resolve he had possessed earlier to turn it on was nowhere to be found.

His fingers trembled.

"You still want to light it, huh? Fine. Do it. Do it and kill your family."

Jayden’s voice cut through the room with vigour.

"Do you know? It was because of your foolishness that the Shadow God accelerated the curse for your family, and they all died."

Asher’s pupils trembled.

"Now, you still want to kill them again because of your stubbornness?! What do you want to achieve? What do you want to gain by killing your family a second time and returning? TELL ME!"

Jayden screamed with such force that his voice echoed throughout the room.

Asher’s fingers trembled as flashes of his dead family continued appearing in his mind.

One by one.

Their lifeless faces.

Their deaths.

The pain.

The loss.

Everything he had desperately tried to escape came rushing back.

’It’s—It’s true. Wh-What more do I have in reality? I-I have lost my family, so-so what is the point of returning? What do I have there that I need to return for? Nothing! Absolutely nothing.’

His grip on the lighter weakened.

’Why here, I have my family with me again and no need to move to Vespers all over and relive the pain.’

Jayden’s eyes flicked towards Clara, and his brows knit instantly.

"...."

"Ash—Asher, my son."

Clara’s voice trembled.

"I-I have been trying to tell you. I-I really love you, son. Please, don’t do this."

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at him.

"Bro—Brother... why do you want to leave us? Do—don’t you miss us, huh?"

Jesse cried out as she struggled against the rope keeping her pinned to the chair.

Asher’s fingers trembled.

Slowly, his grip loosened around the lighter.

His teeth clattered a few times as the memories he had created here kept flashing through his mind again and again.

The warm smiles.

The delicious food.

The banter.

The fun times.

Every little moment he had spent with them.

All of it felt real.

Not fake.

Not like an illusion.

Real.

’Ye—Yes... they—they are real. The—They are my family. I—I can’t bring myself to kill them a second time.’

As if reading his thoughts, a subtle smile crossed Jayden’s lips.

He turned towards Jack.

"We are all finally happy again, son. Don’t ruin this for us. Come untie us, and let’s stay with one another forever."

That was the push Asher needed.

He frantically stood to his feet.

"Ye—Yes. I—I miss you all. I—I can’t leave without you all."

Asher uttered the words through trembling breaths, tears falling from his eyes as he looked at his family.

Clara nodded with a warm smile on her face.

"Come on, son. Come untie us."

"I—I... yes. Right away."

Asher smiled as he used the back of his hand to wipe his face.

He sniffled.

Then took a step forward.

A smile remained on his face.

Only for him to halt his steps the very next second.

Jayden’s brows twitched in worry.

"What happened?"

"...."

Asher’s brows knit immediately as he looked at his family one more time.

’No—now that I have my memories back... Di—didn’t I sense the auras of Shadows at the dinner table?’

His eyes narrowed.

’Hang on....’

It was as if a switch had suddenly been flipped inside the boy’s mind.

’...If this is really another universe, how do my family have the power to erase memories?’

His expression slowly changed.

’And wait.... What did they mean by wanting me to become one of them some minutes ago?’

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

The wheels in Asher’s brain began to spin with such velocity that countless pieces of information started unraveling before his eyes.

Due to the amount of grief and pain he was in, his senses and observant mind had been dulled greatly.

But now that he had begun approaching his family again, his instincts were tugging at him repeatedly, forcing him to pause and reflect.

Something wasn’t right.

Some things simply didn’t add up.

"What happened, brother?"

Jesse’s voice trembled.

"Do—don’t you miss us anymore? Don’t you want us anymore?"

She cried aloud as tears trickled down her cheeks.

"You don’t love us anymore? What happened to you, son?"

Clara called out, her eyes glistening with tears.

Something moved inside Asher’s heart as he watched his family cry.

His teeth were tightly gritted as a tear rolled down the corner of his eye.

"Come on, kid. Hurry up and untie us already. There’s nothing left for you back in reality aside from pain and sadness. This is what you want and need, so come take it! You have nothing LEFT!"

Jayden roared, his patience running thin with each passing second.

And then—

His family exploded into a flurry of voices, all trying to coerce him.

As Jack was speaking, so was his mother.

So was Jesse.

Even the entity possessing Jayden’s body was speaking.

Their voices overlapped with one another, blending together until they almost became one.

Each voice pulled at Asher’s mind and heart at the same time.

’Argh... my head.... Ugh....’

Asher grabbed his head and staggered backward as everyone began screaming continuously, trying their hardest to convince him.

His head was spinning.

His vision was spinning.

The memories of his original life and parents began overlapping with the memories of this false reality.

Two lives.

Two families.

Two sets of memories fighting for dominance inside his mind.

Jack was beginning to grow frustrated with each passing moment.

"Come on already, you damned boy! Hurry and untie us before I break your bones!"

"....."

Silence.

The voices suddenly stopped.

Asher’s hands slowly slid down from his head.

His breathing was ragged as he looked in his father’s direction.

Then his gaze shifted toward Jayden.

The entity’s face had changed.

There was a horrified, furious look plastered across it.

And then—

The corner of Asher’s lips curved upward.

"I guess my instinct was right."

His voice was quiet.

Certain.

"It was all a lie and fake."

He turned his head fully towards Jayden, tightening his grip around the lighter.

"You missed one thing about me...."

His eyes narrowed.

"I can sense Shadows."

Jayden’s expression stiffened.

"And those aren’t my family from an alternative universe."

Asher raised the lighter slightly.

"They are Shadows."

A faint smirk appeared on his lips.

"Shadow clones of my family."

"...."

Jayden’s eyes widened.

For the first time since revealing himself, genuine shock flashed across his face.

Asher smirked and spun the lighter around between his fingers.

Then—

Flick.

Once.

Flick.

Twice.

The flame ignited.

"NOOO!"

Jayden screamed instantly.

The ropes holding him down exploded into pieces as he violently kicked the chair behind him.

He was about to lunge forward—

But Asher let go of the lighter.

His gaze remained fixed on his family, still trapped on the chairs.

’It’s okay....’

His fingers trembled.

’They—they aren’t real.’

Asher slowly closed his eyes.

’You aren’t killing your family.’

The lighter slipped from his hand.

It fell toward the ground beneath him.

A tear slid down the corner of his eye as the memories of his time in the Nightmare flooded through his mind.

The laughter.

The meals.

The conversations.

The warmth.

The happiness.

All of it.

’Ahhh.... This is gonna hurt.’

His lips trembled.

’Physically and emotionally.’

It didn’t take less than a second.

The entire world ignited.

BOOOOM!

An explosion tore outward.

A violent shockwave smashed into the lunging Jayden, sending him flying backward like a ragdoll.

Bam!

His body crashed into a wall.

Fire instantly blazed throughout the room, consuming everything in its path and spreading outward with vengeful wrath—amplified by the camphor.

The flames devoured the walls.

The furniture.

The floor.

Everything.

And then—

An ear-splitting roar of pain tore out from Asher’s lungs as the fire consumed him.

"AAAAAAAAAH! CURSES!"

BOOOOM—!

The fire spread through the entire house.

Then the entire structure exploded.

Asher was still screaming as the colours of the world twisted and swirled violently before his eyes.

Reality was breaking apart at an astonishing speed.

The walls distorted.

The flames stretched into strange colours.

Everything around him began collapsing into fragments.

Asher’s skin peeled like that of an onion.

Red-hot pain slammed into him, both internally and externally.

His family was consumed by the flames and turned into ash almost immediately.

Asher’s eyes remained tightly shut as reality literally collapsed around him.

The pain was unbearable.

Yet beneath it, he could feel something else.

The Nightmare was ending.

Drawing in a sharp, deep breath, Asher bellowed once more.

And soon—

Life was snuffed out of his body.

His body slumped to the ground with a heavy thud.

Tears continued sliding down from the corners of his eyes.

*Tring.*

[Congratulations Dreamer; Your Nightmare is Over....]