Eternal Elysium

Even now when I remember the Hollows nothing much comes to mind.

I had fought and survived it. But in the end knew nothing about it.

Heck, I didn't even know if it was one or many. This has caused the rise of several issues in my soul world at that time.

But fortunately, everything ended well, and I recovered at the same time.

The biggest loss was that the mark of stars had lost its lustrous shine. The white lines and ethereal marks above my heart had spread till my shoulder blades had turned dimmer and turned grey.

According to Lord Elias's words, it should vanish by next month or something along that time.

"Maybe she wants me to grow on my own…" I muttered and channeled [Kairosflow] again into the flower pot.

I have been doing this for some hours now and taking small breaks in between.

No visible difference has been shown yet.

The chances of success feel slim and full of uncertainty.

Feeling my heart sank upon this site I sighed and again turned to look back at the ceiling.

'What is a will?'

Now that something was not working I went to the next topic.

This is my coping mechanism right now.

To jump from one issue to another when I get stuck in some problem and then repeat.

"Hmm, a will was way different than what I actually imagined it to be," I mumbled.

And then laid down on the floor.

A will was actually a necessary tool everyone needed. To ascend a person just doesn't need a strong body, big reserves of essence and new ability.

They also needed a specific mentality.

That was what a will truly was… it was our mind.

Why was I sure it was based on my mentality?

It was due to the fact that Liber once told me something very interesting in the past. About the phenomenon of drowning in emotions.

This happens to those on higher ranks where they either lose emotions or become enriched with them.

Now, wasn't it strange that I suddenly got calmer after finding my will? That's where it clicked me.

A will was to keep sanity intact… it was a tool, not necessary to ascend but a tool necessary to be human.

A mentality much needed by everyone who wishes to reach a world higher than what they currently live in.

However, I clearly was not a high-rank awakener. I was a simple rank 2 awakened. My powers were also not related to the mind domain.

So, why was I always having these crazy bursts of emotions from time to time?

The answer I had reached after so many thoughts was that nothing was absolute in matters related to the supernatural.

If something could have gone wrong with high-rank awakeners like transcendent and zeniths.

What guarantees nothing can go wrong with me?

'Maybe the chances were low… but are they zero?'

I smiled and stood up.

"No, they are not…"

I turned my gaze to look at the door.

"I should go out now… I need some fresh air."

It would not be easy to have a breakthrough…

*****

Walking through the streets, I entered one of the nearby taverns.

It was bustling inside, people flooded to have their fill and the smell of smoked meat filled my nostrils. Gathering my courage, I stepped deeper inside, finding nowhere to sit.

Logically going to Elena's restaurant would have been better, but right now I just wanted to have some time alone with myself.

Just as I saw a person leave his seat—

"Boss!"

A voice called out, and then someone tapped my shoulders from behind.

"Ah, Boss! It truly is you!"

Looking behind, I saw a man, a little shorter than me with brown skin and a messy beard.

"Mr. Waley, correct?" I smiled and greeted the man in front of me.

He was one of the people Elda and Albert hired from the slums. I had shared some light greetings with him before and had some casual conversations.

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But other than that there was not much connection between us.

"Oh, you actually remember me, boss? That makes me very happy. Please join me for a meal."

He pointed at the table at the side of the tavern, amidst the bustling place that corner was missed by my sight.

'I need to be more aware of my surroundings.'

Seeing me frown, Mr. Waley hesitated and licked his lips before saying.

"Um, Bos– No, I mean Sir Asher, did I offend you somehow?"

I froze and hastily shook my head.

"No, no... I was just lost in thoughts… Let's take our seats before someone else does?"

"Ahaha yeah, sure, let's do it." Mr. Waley laughed heartily and nodded before pulling the chairs in our direction.

Seeing his enthusiasm I nodded and silently took my seat.

Sigh…

"What happened, Sir? You look tense?" Mr. Waley spoke and raised his brows together in confusion.

"No, it's okay. Nothing serious. Also, feel free to talk casually. I prefer it that way." I smiled and said back.

Seeing Asher calm and happy, Waley was perplexed for a moment then leaned back before speaking enthusiastically.

"Alright, I will continue to call you boss, like Albert does!"

"You know Albert?"

"Yes, yes we all do. He comes to drink with us sometimes."

"Oh, I see."

"Ahaha, you should also join us sometimes."

I gently shook my head in his direction.

"Some other time I guess."

Placing our orders as a waitress came, I thought for a moment and asked.

"You didn't go to the workshop today? Is there any problem?"

Waley eyes widened for a moment but then he grinned back, raising his already filled beer cup in the air.

"I have an evening shift boss, my wife is doing morning work today, she wanted to spend time with the kids in the evening!"

"Oh, are you and your wife working together?"

I had seen several kids being taught by Elda and the others sometimes but I obviously wasn't aware who belonged to whom.

"Yes, we are since the pay is nice enough for us to get some rest these days… I am grateful for that to you and your people."

Blink. Blink.

I blinked at his sudden words as they came out of nowhere.

Unsure what to say in return I rubbed the back of my head but then nodded.

"Ah, that's your own efforts, Mr. Waley. And the work isn't that much to begin with, you all have been working for almost a month only to praise me this much."

"Maybe. But Silverwill was undeniably helpful to us, it gave us the small breather needed in life. Even if it's nothing but a pipe dream, that we might wake up from one day to face the nightmare once again…"

Seeing his somber face, I felt something ache in my heart… this time it was not from dread.

After all this conversation was different from the ones I previously had with Elda and Albert. At that time we shared our stories to break the wall and build trust among us.

To make sure it doesn't look they only need to rely on me, that I might also need their help for something.

But being praised one-sided was out of my expertise.

"Ahem… You are embarrassing me now and I will make sure this dream stays a little longer than what you have hoped for. I can't promise it will be eternal and everlasting but it will still remain as long as you live."

Mr. Waley's eyes widened for a moment as he burst out laughing slamming the cup on the table.

The droplet of his drink flew past me as I closed my eyes, not letting it hit me and tilted to the side.

'Have some manners!'

"Ahahaha… You say some funny words, Boss! Not last an eternity but last till the day I die? Isn't that eternity for me already? What more can I even ask for?!"

'The work has only been ongoing for a month… why are they so happy?'

I was clearly perplexed by this situation and his half-witted words were certainly not very helpful in understanding this situation.

At last, all I could do was sigh and ask him directly.

"Um, Mr. Waley… I am sorry for not understanding but can you tell me why you say those words? I mean it's only been no more than a month. How much could have even changed."

Mr. Waley stiffened in his seat, his brows furrowed together as he was unable to understand my words.

"I, I see… This is the difference between us."

But then he smiled in my direction.

"Boss… In this world, some people are just scrapping whatever they have to live a day longer. No, calling it living is a big word. They are trying to not die of hunger, and cold, and to keep their family together. Just like me… Before working for you, me and my wife were working from morning to night."

He paused his eyes looking at a distant past, shaking his head slowly he continued.

"But now we learned some new skills for free and even got paid weekly. Not only that, our children are learning how to read and write… even if we lose this work we can still do much better now in the future."

"I won't say I understand everything you told just now but I will make an effort to know more… Silverwill is a group made to help people in the first place."

"Oh, so it really is a group that helps people? Albert said you won't agree no matter how many times they asked. He said you call it a business rather than charity but well we have not made any big profits to be called a merchant's business." Waley grinned as his words came with a small laugh.

"You don't need to be shy boss, you are doing a heavenly deed!"

I flinched at his words but soon calmed down.

He was already drunk…

'You have work in the evening, why are you drinking now in the first place?' I thought to myself.

I shrugged and leaned back on my chair, crossing my arms together and replied with an irritated tone.

"I don't know what you are talking about?"

"Eh? Bu—"

"Well, how is the market these days? I have not heard much since I was busy."

Stopping him mid-sentence I asked.

"Ah, I had heard that Palto, one of the big merchants, got robbed?"

I raised a brow, maintaining a shocked expression.

"Really? I didn't know." I said in ignorance.

"Hmm boss, you should listen to this news! It was fucking funny! People in town said Palto fainted the moment he opened the boxes… Some said that he went mad and started to jump like a frog and hit people like a madman.. haha"

'Pretty sure all this news is fake.'

But nevertheless nodded at his words showing my growing interest.

"What else happened there must be some guards right? What was their fate?"

"Them? Not much is said about that yet but they probably got detained by the guild… I guess they will be out soon, what can they even do about this really? Tsk. Tsk."

Waley who just clicked his tongue frowned as he saw Asher's lips curl up into a deadly grin.

Feeling shivers run down his spine, he stuttered before asking.

"S-something the matter boss?"

"No, nothing at all… I just remembered something good."

'I can pay them back even more now… Nice. Very nice.'

Following that our small chat continued from talking about everyday queries to making fun of other merchants.

Our food came soon, but our long conversations made it turn cold.

"Ah, I hope everything could last forever…" Mr. Waley mumbled under his breath, making my eyes go wide.

At that moment something clicked in my mind.

A small insight!

Thump!

I stood up from my seat, slamming my palms on the table.

"W-what?" Waley asked in shock.

I gently shook my head.

"I will take my leave now Mr.Waley. Something urgent came up!" I said with a grin.

"Oh, also… take this and pass it to Elda for me."

I quickly took out a pen and a piece of paper from my bracelet and jolted down something on it.

"No one is allowed to come to the workshop drunk— Asher."

And signed it.

Mr. Waley's face looked at the piece of paper curiously not knowing what was written over it.

"Got it!"

Mr. Waley answered with a grin.

Seeing his grinning face, I started to feel bad.

'Elda will kick him out… won't she?'

Licking my lips I added one more sentence over it.

"Give Mr. Waley a holiday or half day depending on the situation."

'Yes, she won't be mad now… I hope so.'

"Don't drink from now on during work hours and apologize to Elda when you reach the workshop, Mr. Waley," I told as he tilted his head in confusion.

Realizing his mistake, Waley's face started to go pale.

With that I took my leave but not before paying for the food.

I need to see the results now!