Chapter 426: Inception

Ethan staggered forward.

Every step sent another wave of pain through his body.

Both of his arms were mangled, his hands barely responding to his commands. His entire body was scorched from the battle, patches of burned flesh covering his skin where Inferno Core and Beast Impact had pushed Spark’s flames beyond what his body could withstand.

His mana was completely gone.

There wasn’t a single drop left inside him.

Yet Ethan kept walking.

The pain was excruciating, but he endured it.

He had already come this far, and wasn’t going to stop now.

’I really hope this doesn’t somehow carry over.’

The thought almost made him laugh.

Wolfy and Storm would likely retain their injuries. Their bodies were tied to him through that strange connection, and since damage remained after the Tower, he assumed it was the same in this case.

But his own body?

He couldn’t imagine why his physical injuries would follow him out.

At least, he hoped they wouldn’t.

Before Ethan could think about it any further, the entire realm suddenly shook.

He stopped.

The ground beneath his feet trembled violently as cracks spread across the twisted landscape. The dark-green sky warped like glass being bent from within, while enormous waves of corrupted mana surged through the realm.

Ethan stared toward the centre.

’Damn it. What’s going on?’

He had no idea what Kaela and the demon were up to, but whatever they were doing was making his job even more difficult.

The ground suddenly buckled.

A distant structure collapsed into the darkness.

Ethan didn’t wait to find out what would happen next.

With what little strength remained in his body, he staggered down the path.

Every step was agony.

His legs shook beneath him, and his ruined arms hung uselessly at his sides. Several times, his knees nearly gave out, but Ethan forced himself upright every time. Eventually, the path opened into the centre of the realm, and what he found there was surprisingly underwhelming.

Mark was curled into a ball in the middle of the collapsing landscape.

His arms were wrapped around his knees as he rocked back and forth, completely disconnected from the destruction happening around him.

"Mark!"

Ethan staggered toward him.

After everything he had fought through, he had expected something more.

Instead, his brother looked broken.

Ethan carefully reached out.

He was prepared for Mark to suddenly attack him.

Fortunately, it seemed as though Mark had finally exhausted whatever strength had been driving him.

’Thank God.’

Ethan didn’t have the mana to confidently fight Mark anymore, or anything for that matter, especially not in this collapsing nightmare.

But things weren’t going to be simple either.

As soon as he touched Mark’s shoulder, the world disappeared.

Ethan opened his eyes.

He was standing in a completely different place.

His body felt strange, but he wasn’t complaining since there wasn’t a single injury on him.

Ethan looked down at himself in confusion.

Then he heard laughter.

He turned.

A young Mark was standing nearby, and beside him was Ethan.

But not the twenty-five-year-old Ethan.

A child.

Ethan stared at his younger self.

The next instant he looked down at his hands again, and they were smaller. His body was younger, and he had become a child again.

"This is..."

It was an inception where he was in a mental space within a mental space.

Ethan looked toward Mark.

Mark smiled.

"Come on!"

The scene changed.

Ethan found himself running beside his brother.

They were children again.

They raced through familiar streets, laughed together, argued over stupid things, and fought over things neither of them would have cared about years later. Ethan could feel everything: the warmth of the sun, the ground beneath his feet, the wind in his hair.

The memories weren’t being shown to him; he was reliving them.

For a while, Ethan simply enjoyed it.

Then he realised something.

These weren’t actually his memories.

They were Mark’s.

He was experiencing them exactly as Mark remembered them.

Another memory came.

The two brothers sitting together.

Another.

Mark protecting Ethan.

Another.

The two of them fighting.

Another.

The two of them growing older together.

Ethan smiled.

"Mark."

His brother looked at him.

"What?"

Ethan almost laughed.

"Nothing."

For a moment, it felt peaceful.

Then the sky darkened.

A thin strand of dark-green energy appeared in the distance.

Ethan’s smile disappeared.

The corruption was spreading and seeping through the memory like poison through water. It distorted the street, blurred faces, and muffled voices, as if to wipe his mind.

Ethan grabbed Mark’s shoulder.

"Don’t let it take this."

Mark looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

The green energy rushed closer.

Ethan stepped between it and his brother.

"Remember."

The corruption struck, and the memory shattered.

Ethan found himself somewhere in another moment from Mark’s childhood.

Then another.

Each time, he would try to speak sense to Mark, but the same thing happened. The green energy followed them, consumed the memories, and twisted moments of happiness into distorted nightmares.

Ethan understood what it was doing.

’It’s trying to erase him.’

The corruption wasn’t simply attacking Mark’s mind; it was destroying the memories that made Mark who he was.

Without his past, there would be nothing left to anchor his humanity.

"Mark!"

Ethan grabbed his brother.

"Look at me!"

Mark’s eyes flickered.

"Ethan...?"

"Remember who you are!"

The corruption surged around them.

Ethan subconsciously used Beast Resistance to protect Mark’s mind as well as his own. The dark-green energy slammed into him, and pain tore through his mind, but Ethan refused to let go.

He summoned his beasts to fight back against it.

Wolfy appeared first.

Then Storm.

Talon spread its wings.

Spark erupted into flame.

They stood beside Ethan within the memory, pushing back against the corruption.

Ethan pulled Mark closer.

"You’re my brother."

The darkness screamed.

"You’ve protected me before."

The memories around them began returning.

"You’ve fought beside me."

Mark’s eyes widened.

"You’ve been there my entire life."

The green energy recoiled, and Mark suddenly screamed as it all came rushing back. Then everything around them exploded into light. When Ethan opened his eyes, he was standing in darkness.

There was no landscape, sky, or memory, just an endless black void.

Mark stood beside him.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Mark looked at his hands.

Then at Ethan.

"Hey."

Ethan breathed out slowly.

"We did it."

For the first time since entering Mark’s mind, Ethan allowed himself to relax.

"This monster bullshit is finally over."

Or so they thought.

A sound suddenly came from the darkness.

Footsteps.

Ethan’s expression changed.

He turned.

Something was standing across from them.

It looked exactly like Mark, but its entire body was covered in dark-green energy. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and there was nothing human in its expression.

Mark froze.

His face went pale.

"No..."

Ethan stared at the creature.

The Blood Demon had warned them about this.

That predatory consciousness that didn’t think like a human. The thing that wanted to consume everything inside Mark. It had been festering for too long and consumed so much of Mark’s mind that somewhere along the way...

It had developed a mind of its own.

The dark-green version of Mark smiled as its eyes locked onto Mark.

"Only one of us may remain."

Mark took a step backwards, but Ethan stepped forward.

He stared directly at the creature.

"And it’s not going to be you."