Chapter 45: What Happened?
"Um... It’s the greatest thing that has happened to me... I don’t know about you guys, but me, this is the greatest thing." He stammered, still stunned by the woman sitting beside him. His heart hammered against his ribs as he adjusted to the sharp, intelligent presence sitting in place of the childlike girl he had been caring for.
Asher wasn’t lying, it wasn’t because of the System or anything, but deep down, he wants a family who will love him, care for him, and wait for him when he returns home. Having the three women as his wives kind of fulfilled that wish, which is why he will do anything to protect them. The bottomless wealth, the skills, the power—none of it meant anything if he remained the isolated outcast he was in the Starfire household.
Kelly tilted her head, staring at him with an expression that mixed gentle amusement with profound gratitude. She smiled softly, and relaxed her back on the fountain, staring at the ice cream in her hand:
"I remember everything... From the time of the expedition, to this current day... Everything I went through in the place I called home, the family I took out from the dirt. Everything." She licked the ice cream, her eyes momentarily darkening as three years of fog cleared away to reveal the painful memories of her former life:
"I would say... I am also happy, you see, I don’t know why I am happy, but I am happy being part of this new family." She flashed him a small smile.
Asher blinked, dumbfounded, and after some seconds, he asked: "Sorry, but can you tell me what happened to you? What led to your situation."
Asher knew it wasn’t the right time to ask about this, Kelly had just gained her mind, even if it’s for ten hours; but he needed to know what happened to her. Out of his three wives, his first wife was still a mystery to him.
Kelly was silent, she held the ice cream for what seemed like ten decades, when it was only ten seconds, before exhaling. The sudden heaviness in her posture made her look fragile once more, despite the sharp clarity in her eyes:
"Why ask such a depressing question?"
"I want to know what caused your situation; if it is man-made, I want to help you get your revenge, and also it might reveal some information about that expedition." He said.
Right now, Sara was the right person to answer this question, as she was an SSS-RANK Awakened back then, and was in the heat of battle... But Sara isn’t in any state to remember such painful memories. He knew what she encountered in that expedition was far more painful than Kelly’s experience.
Kelly stared at him, a bit stunned. The sheer earnestness in his voice caught her completely off guard.
Was he serious?
Was he thinking of avenging her?
She looked at his young face, seeing the fierce resolve buried beneath his soft features. She will never place him in such a dangerous situation.
Asher took care of them to this day, she will never do or say anything that will harm him. That’s being selfish. The monsters that broke her mind were nightmares that no single warrior could ever hope to face.
"Sorry, Asher... But I can’t--"
"No!"
Kelly froze, as Asher grabbed her hand, she stared at his serious and determined gaze, staring deep into her. His grip was tight, desperate, and filled with a burning desire to pull her out of the shadows.
’No! I need some information about that Doomsday Dungeon, and what happened to Kelly... I can’t just head blindly to a dungeon that took down a hundred SSS-RANK three years ago.’ He thought.
Seeing his expression, Kelly sighed, and lowered her gaze to his hand; seeing her gaze, Asher quickly let go of her hand, realizing he had crossed a boundary in his desperation: "I am sorry, I just... I just want to do something to help you. Even if it’s just a little bit, I want to try." He said, his fist clenched tightly against his knee.
"....?!"
Kelly stared at him for a long while, searching his eyes for any sign of deception, but finding only pure, unadulterated dedication. She turned her head to the sky, staring at the moon:
"Alright, but I didn’t enter the island, I was on the ship." She started.
Asher instantly got serious, waiting for her explanation, leaning in closer to catch every single detail.
"Three years ago, I chose to join the expedition because I heard there is a very high chance of locating a massive spirit energy mine on that Island. That was my goal, I thought after the dungeon was taken care of, I could start discussing my acquisition of the mine with the Guilds there. You know, first come, first served." She chuckled darkly, a bitter sound that carried the weight of her lost ambitions:
"But this decision changed my life in the worst way... After that Guild went into the Island, it took a whole day before we heard the sounds of intense battles, and the fifth day, I was on the ship, staring at the island, only to see Sara running out, she was bleeding, and there was a chain around her neck, with blade injuries all over her body."
".....?!"
Asher froze, his blood running ice-cold. He had never seen Sara’s body, so he didn’t know about this... Was Sara captured, tortured then later escaped? Was that even called an escape? The imagery painted a terrifying picture of the sheer nightmare Sara had endured before losing her voice and her core.
"I was shocked, frozen in place with the ship crew. You know, at that time, I didn’t know what she was trying to say, because she couldn’t speak, but now, I think she was telling me to run... Run for my life." She exhaled softly, the fear in her voice as fresh as if it had happened yesterday:
"Then I saw them... Different creatures, both Humanoids, and shapeless things, even spirits and Beasts."
".....?!"
Asher frowned, his mind instantly picking apart the impossibility of the statement. No dungeon will ever have different species of monsters in them, for example, the S-Rank Dungeon that happened in the outskirts, it only has Dark elves, but this dungeon actually has all types of monsters. It broke every established law of dungeon ecology.
"Then I saw something else... I can’t describe it, but it was a humanoid creature, he was wearing a human skull on his face, and all over his neck, and shoulders were bones of humans... This thing, which was 10 feet tall; grabbed Sara, and smashed her heavily on the ground... Then turned its attention towards the ship. The next time I remembered, well... I went crazy." She finished it with a bit of humor, a tragic self-deprecation to lighten the overwhelming horror of her narrative.
Asher sat frozen in place, the noises of the park completely fading into the background. Such a creature, was that the King the system mentioned? What rank was that thing three years ago? And how strong has it gotten after consuming the spirit energy of a hundred fallen SSS-Rank Awakened?