Chapter 83: Awake (1)

Chapter 83

"Huuuuuu.....!"

Asher drew in a deep breath as his body rose upright simultaneously.

His instincts were on point. He sat upright before he even had the chance to open his eyes.

"....."

Then slowly, like a newborn— Asher’s eyelids began fluttering open.

His eyes gradually opened, struggling to adjust to the lighting of the location he found himself in.

Alas!

There was almost no light in the room aside from the soft glow of a lamp stand beside the bed he lay on.

"Huh?"

He blinked a few times, turning around with a dazed expression.

Under the small pool of light cast by the lamp, he was able to take in the full view of the room he was in.

"This— This looks nothing like the room in our house though." He muttered as he scanned the neatly arranged room.

Not knowing what situation he was in at the moment, he hastily pulled the duvet covering his body away.

".... And I certainly recall passing out on the ground instead of a bed in an unknown room." He muttered before hurriedly jumping to his feet.

"...."

Then,

Thud—!

Asher collapsed to his knees almost immediately, letting out a pained shriek.

"Ow. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I forgot. I have been asleep for who knows how long."

His legs felt unfamiliar to him, almost like jelly beneath his weight.

With a pained groan, he grabbed the side of the bed and managed to push himself upright until he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Haaa....haaa..."

He panted while looking down at his almost skinny legs.

The same legs that had been athletic just a moment ago now looked noticeably different, having lost some of their former strength and definition from lying dormant for who knew how long.

"Ugh...." He groaned, rubbing his head as a small headache gnawed at his brain.

Gripping his head, he paused.

’Huh?’

He blinked.

Tracing his hand downward, he suddenly realised that his hair had grown longer, its length almost covering his entire face.

Unconsciously, he continued running his hand through his hair and across his face, and that was when he realised something else.

"...."

"Ba...thump...."

His hands froze in front of his face.

His eyes stretched wide in horror.

"Ho-H-How is this possible? How can—"

Quickly turning around in panic, he caught sight of the other end of the bed where a broken mirror lay on a small table.

Grimacing, he crawled on his belly across the bed to reach the other end.

Then, reaching out, he grabbed the piece of mirror with a huff.

Turning around, he managed to sit back at the edge of the bed and slowly but surely lifted the mirror towards his face.

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

His reflection flashed in front of his eyes.

Lush black hair toppled over his face, its length now reaching his back. He stared at his own amethyst eyes glistening back at him from the broken piece of glass.

But that wasn’t the pressing issue, though.

It was what was on his face.

"...."

He had grown a small mustache and a few strands of beard across his face.

The previously handsome, soft, and youthful face that had always been with him for so long was no longer there.

He looked rougher, more mature, yet still handsome— that was if he cleaned himself up a bit more.

Asher looked far older compared to.... how long ago he had gone to sleep.

He looked like a man in his early twenties.

"How is this possible? I’m just sixteen years old. How do I look so old? How long did I even sleep for?" He uttered in shock as he continued staring at himself.

Lifting his hand to touch his face a few times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, something caught his eyes under the light of the room.

It was his hand.

He blinked.

Dropping the mirror to the side, he scooted closer to the lamp stand to illuminate what was staring back at him from his arm.

And there, he could see it.

From the tips of his left fingers to his wrist, a black fog sat snugly around his hand like a glove made of darkness.

The black fog twisted and shifted like shadows drifting beneath a moonless night sky.

"What is this?" He muttered confusedly as he reached out to touch the obsidian fog, only to freeze again.

Tilting his head to the side, he looked at his other arm and there, he could see... see....

Asher’s brows knit together.

"... Bite marks?"

Bringing the hand closer to his face, the mark was unmistakable.

It was a bite mark—the same mark he had given himself in the Nightmare to keep his mind from drifting away again.

Turning to his gloved hand, he saw the same bite mark on his left arm too.

"Why are they still here? And what the hell is even going on? Where am I?!"

With how loudly he had been shouting for the past five minutes, somebody should have come to check on him by now. Yet there was nobody.

He remained completely alone in the room.

"I-I need to find out what’s going on." Asher mumbled under his breath as he looked towards the door.

With a heavy breath and a sigh, along with the memory of his previous fall, Asher carefully and gently lifted himself to his feet.

Taking one step forward, he almost staggered, but quickly caught himself by grabbing the table where the lamp stand stood.

"Slow but steady wins the race." He mumbled before beginning to take one step at a time.

His bare feet carefully navigated the ground, his legs trembling with each passing moment as they struggled to support his weight.

With the walls as his aide, he slowly made his way towards the door, which thankfully, wasn’t locked.

Pulling it open, he wobbled outside.

.....

Tak. Tak. Tak.

With the help of the railings along the staircase, Asher carefully descended downstairs, each step accompanied by the soft tapping of his feet against the floor.

Eventually, a living room opened up in front of him.

"Huh?"

He blinked in confusion at first.

Then recognition.

The living room looked like the same model as the living room in his house in Vespers.

But more different.

That wasn’t what stunned him, though.

It was the fact that he could recognise the damned living room by its smell and its messy appearance.

His eyes widened slightly as he took in the familiar surroundings.

"I’m in Miss Mia’s house? Huh?"