{Chapter Nineteen} Experience versus Skill
In a bedroom. Ordinary—or rather, less than ordinary.
The walls were dull gray, spiderwebbed with cracks. The rickety bed groaned under Anas as he stared at the ceiling, thoughts invading his mind without pause.
Suddenly, he sat on the edge of the bed abruptly, rubbing his head violently.
"This is annoying! Extremely annoying! Why do I always have to make impossible decisions? Is this a curse?! Why must I mature before my time?! I'm just a young man who's supposed to act crazy and enjoy life!…"
"Ohh!" Priscilla, perched on the desk chair, drew an expression of mild surprise.
But as quickly as the wave of emotion came, it vanished.
Anas' eyes half-closed again. He raised his hand…
Dust.
He had punched himself so hard that his face turned to the side, then exhaled quietly, staring at his hand, voice cold as he spoke:
"As if I care what I'm supposed to do. I chose this path of my own free will. I have no desire to regret anything in my life, because this is what has kept me alive all this time. This is me. Whether I deny it or not, that won't change."
Suddenly, Priscilla stood, her eyes glowing crimson as if fire burned within them.
"Yes! Yes! That's the feeling! Very good! This is my dear one!"
Anas turned toward her, tilting his head slightly.
"I know there are no secrets between us because we are one. So I'll be direct. What's wrong with you? (He gestures in a circular motion in front of his head.) Have you gone mad?"
Priscilla chuckled lightly, then replied:
"No, it seems you haven't realized yet, but the more the avatar is honest with himself, the stronger he becomes, and the entity linked to him grows stronger too. Unfortunately, this leads to discovering new abilities but does not make existing powers stronger. And since I'm about to consume that eye, you might gain something special. Perhaps everything you endured will not have been in vain. So… what is your decision?"
Anas stared at the floor for a moment. The room's walls began to crumble into ashes and scattered fragments.
Then he lifted his head, eyes clear and resolute, like someone who had long decided what he wanted.
"You can eat it. I would have asked more about the avatar, but it seems our time is nearly up, so I'll postpone that for later."
Priscilla smiled widely, baring her sharp teeth, then raised her hand, holding the monster's eye, and began devouring it savagely. Black blood splattered across her face, trailing down her chin, but she paid it no mind and continued.
The world began cracking rapidly, like shards of a shattered mirror scattering. Darkness started to engulf it, and Anas' vision dimmed. Yet he could still see Priscilla clearly until the last moment before he felt the sensation of sinking into darkness again.
But this time, the darkness didn't swallow him—it allowed him to emerge, like surfacing from water after holding his breath far too long.
Anas drew a sharp breath, as if resurrected from death.
His eyes opened wide for a moment before everything settled again.
When consciousness returned, he stood, slowly brushing dust and ash from himself.
Holding the dagger inverted, he began walking with an expression devoid of emotion.
He paused, turning to stare at the monster's corpse he had nearly killed, from which he had obtained nothing but the eye.
For a moment, he felt he had exerted effort for some worthless scum. He frowned slightly, then his cold expression returned, and he continued walking.
His footsteps echoed in the empty space, reminiscent of the sewers where Leona and Naivy stood behind Edward, who was desperately trying to keep his wits about him to survive first, thus ensuring the safety of his sister and companion.
Damn, damn. How am I supposed to face this cursed power? Edward thought, gritting his teeth.
The Owl prepared to strike at Edward.
His steps were fast and deliberate—he wanted to end it. Edward sensed death approaching, looked around briefly, then…
He dropped low as the Owl lunged. The Owl tried to adjust to strike Edward, but Edward maneuvered with an unexpected, swift spinning move and thrust his sword toward the Owl—but everyone's jaws dropped, eyes wide.
"What?!" Edward shouted.
A man had come from behind, throwing himself into the path of the blow, taking it instead of the Owl. The sword pierced his chest deeply, blood spraying onto Edward, staining his face and hands.
The man fell, bleeding profusely onto the ground.
Edward felt the urge to empty his already-empty stomach. It was the first time he had killed anyone.
Leona screamed: "Edward! Watch out!"
Edward recoiled without even raising his head. He trusted that his sister would not lead him to ruin.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a crowd of men advancing, strange smiles on their lips.
What chilled him most was seeing the man he had just killed rise, moving toward him as well.
The Owl laughed.
Ha ha ha ha ha!
"What's that expression on your face? Fine, I admit—you're interesting. Using your own bleeding blood to slide and maneuver like that is truly commendable. I really want to make you my puppet. Why not just stop resisting? You stand no chance against my men."
Ugh, ahh, uh uh.
Leona had already emptied her stomach at the sight of this scene.
"Edward, they are all already dead. Don't pity them. Look at the wounds on their bodies," Naivy said.
Edward thought, face pale, staring at the Owl who smiled without reaching his eyes: Is it possible… that he killed them?
Suddenly, footsteps sounded from behind.
Leona lifted her head with effort, voice distorted with disgust: "A-Anas… finally, you're back, you bastard?"
"Anas? So there's another rat not here?" the Owl said with a smile, continuing:
"Unfortunately, this is not the Anas you're looking for. This is what is called 'you've fallen into the trap.' Haha." (His playful expression vanished, becoming serious, voice harsh.)
"Playtime is over, rats."
From the shadows behind them, the same man Anas had killed earlier emerged, showing the same strange expressions as the other men.
Edward realized they were trapped and shouted, voice full of suppressed anger:
"What is happening here?!"