Chapter 32: The Evolution
The iron gates of the estate groaned as Asher and Lucas pushed them open.
They hadn't even taken three steps inside before they were tackled.
"Big Brother!"
Finn and Elera slammed into Asher's legs, burying their tear-streaked faces into his dirty trousers. They were shaking.
"We heard the noises!" Elera sobbed, clutching him tight. "We heard the thunder and the screaming! We thought... we thought you were gone."
Asher winced—his ribs were still sore despite the healing—but he didn't push them away. He awkwardly patted Elera's head, something he was still learning how to do.
"I told you," Asher said softly, looking down at them. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm stronger than I look."
Behind the kids, Seraphina stood on the porch. She looked pale, her hands gripping her shawl, but her eyes were dry. She breathed a long, shaky sigh of relief when she saw them walking.
"You're late for breakfast," she said, her voice trembling slightly. It was her way of hiding the fear.
Asher smiled tiredly. "Sorry. We had a bit of a mess to clean up."
They didn't talk about the bodies or the blood. Asher simply told them everything was fine, ate a quick meal to calm the kids down, and then retreated to his room.
As soon as Asher's head hit the pillow, the exhaustion took him.
It wasn't a normal sleep. It felt like falling down a well. The sounds of the estate faded—the wind, the birds, the distant city hum—all replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence.
Thud.
Asher landed on his feet.
He wasn't in his bedroom anymore. He was back in the White Void. The endless, blinding space where he had first arrived in this world.
"Welcome back, Engineer."
The voice boomed from everywhere and nowhere. Asher looked up to see the White Entity—the faceless figure made of shifting light—floating above him.
"You survived," the Entity said. It sounded amused. "And you did it with flair. Breaking your own bones to break your enemy? I see I picked the right soul for the job."
Asher crossed his arms. "I didn't have much of a choice. He was faster than me."
"And now, he never will be again," the Entity replied. It drifted closer, inspecting Asher like a specimen.
"Your body has adapted, Asher. Do you understand your gift yet?"
Asher looked at his hands. "It heals me. It rebuilds muscle fibers denser than before. It's hyper-regeneration."
"It is more than that," the Entity corrected. "It is Adaptive Evolution."
The Entity waved a hand, and images of Asher's fight with Garret appeared in the air like a hologram.
"You were beaten with a jagged sword. Your skin has now hardened against slashing damage. You were crushed by blunt force. Your skeletal structure has increased its density by forty percent."
The Entity leaned in close, its faceless head inches from Asher's.
"If that man tried to punch you now, his hand would shatter against your jaw. Whatever fails to kill you... you become immune to it."
Asher felt a chill run down his spine. It was a terrifying power. It meant that to become strong, he had to be tortured.
"Why are you giving me this?" Asher asked. "I'm just here to build a factory."
"Then build it," the Entity commanded, its voice turning serious. "The threats coming for you are not just thugs in leather armor. True monsters are waking up, Asher. Start your engineering. Build your weapons. You will need them soon."
The world began to dissolve. The white light turned blinding.
"Rest now. The next test will not be so easy."
"Asher?"
The voice was soft, warm, and very close.
Asher gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was back in his bed, sweat sticking his shirt to his chest. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a drum—thump-thump, thump-thump.
The first thing he saw was blue eyes.
Seraphina was leaning over him, her face only inches away from his. She was so close he could smell the scent of lavender soap on her skin. Her hand was hovering over his forehead, as if she had been checking his temperature.
"You were thrashing in your sleep," she whispered, looking concerned. Her long hair fell down, brushing against his cheek.
Asher froze. His heart, which was already beating fast from the nightmare, suddenly skipped a beat for a completely different reason.
"I..." Asher stammered, his throat dry. "I'm awake."
Seraphina didn't pull back immediately. She searched his eyes, her gaze lingering on his face for a second too long. The air in the room felt suddenly thick, charged with something that wasn't electricity.
"Good," she breathed.