Eternal Temptation: Awakening Sinful Desires

In the abandoned, dark alley, Asher was shivering from the cold and bleeding from several wounds inflicted upon him.

He was unconscious until his eyes flickered open at the sensation of raindrops falling on his face.

When he woke up, it took a moment for the pain to catch up with him. His vision blurred as agony flared across his body. He lay still, fighting down panic and trying not to cry out as each shallow breath sent burning spikes through his chest.

Opening his eyes again, Asher saw that he was lying in an empty alleyway. It was night-time, and it started to drizzle. There was no one in sight, just empty streets illuminated by dim street lights. He knew he needed help but couldn't see a way out without dragging himself along the ground like some kind of animal.

With no other option available, he tried to sit up. The effort caused him such intense pain that darkness threatened to claim him once more, and it was only through sheer force of will that he managed not to pass out again.

After taking several deep breaths, which made him want to scream, he pushed himself off the ground, using his arms to brace himself against the wall behind him.

The very next moment, a terrible headache came from nowhere—something akin to nails being hammered into his skull over and over again until he wished they would just drill straight through so that all this torture could end. But there was still enough presence left in him to know how ridiculous that thought was.

So he didn't give up despite every fiber of his being telling him otherwise, instead choosing to focus on staying conscious while waiting for whatever happened next.

It didn't take long before the pain subsided, giving way to clarity—clarity brought about by panic-induced adrenaline coursing through his veins. Once he regained control, Asher realized what had been nagging at him since waking up—why did this situation feel familiar? And then it hit him...

It was the same alleyway where he had been beaten to death before he became Asher Blake...

"Why am I here again, and why did it hurt so much?"

In a daze, Asher saw himself in the broken mirror lying in the corner. The flickering dim light along with the drizzling rain made it difficult to recognize the face reflected on it, but when he squinted, he could see the reflection of an eighteen-year-old boy with ruffled dark hair and black eyes that looked hollow. His face was covered in bruises, cuts, and blood stains.

One of his eye brows had a long cut, and his nose was crooked and broken.

But Asher couldn't care less about the superficial injuries. Instead, he focused on the fact that he looked just like he did when he died, even though it shouldn't be possible. It was as if nothing had changed. But somehow everything felt different now...

"If I'm still me, then what about everything else that happened? Was it a dream, or did I travel back in time?"

Asher wondered but shook the thought out of his mind. It couldn't be...

He remembered passing the first stage of the Twilight Mist Sect's disciple recruitment trial and getting into the second phase, where he had to cross a misty bridge that was covered with illusion formation and break through all hallucinations that make you relive your worst memories over and over again until you manage to snap yourself out of them.

"Maybe I'm still stuck in that damn illusion."

Asher reached out for the Astral Nexus Core Orb to break this hallucination, only to realize that it was not there. Not only has the Astral Nexus Core Orb gone missing, but he also found out that he doesn't have any of his cultivation base either! He can't sense any spirit essence!

"What's going on?"

Fear gripped Asher's heart as he stumbled forward and collapsed against a pile of debris near trash cans with one hand over his face to stop the blood flowing out from a cut in his left eyebrow while cradling his ribs with another arm in an attempt to ease the pain from possible broken bones.

His breath was labored from being kicked in the chest multiple times. Blood leaked between his fingers, dripping down his arm, but there was little he could do about it.

With every breath, he felt more pain and coughed up some more blood, making each moment more agonizing than the last.

In this state, it wasn't the physical pain that hurt Asher the most; it was the emotional pain from realizing where he was right now and knowing that he might have just dreamed all the previous happy events. It felt as though he'd never left this alleyway in the first place and that the entire thing was nothing but a figment of his imagination created by his mind during his coma.

After all, he believed that the Astral Nexus Core Orb that was left behind by an immortal wouldn't have any problem breaking a hallucination caused by the formations of the mortal world.

But since he doesn't have the orb or his cultivation anymore, that means that none of those things happened in the first place, and the fact that he ended up in the same alleyway means that his current situation was not just some random illusion. It was too coincidental to be anything else.

"This can't be happening... Please let this be a nightmare. I just want to wake up now!" Asher mumbled and tried to calm himself down with slow breaths.

The drizzle became stronger and turned into a heavy rain. It pounded against the pavement beneath him, mixing with the blood staining the ground and flowing down the drain in front of Asher's feet.

Raindrops landed on Asher's skin, causing the cuts to sting and burn. The cold water soaked into his clothes and sent shivers down his spine. His face became wet with rainwater that washed away some of the grime covering his face, along with some tears rolling down from his eyes, though it was hard to tell whether they were actual tears or just drops of rain.

However, no matter how many times Asher blinked, the view in front of him didn't change, and it made him question whether he should come back to this reality instead of hoping for something else.

He took another deep breath, then forced himself up from the ground, ignoring the pain. There was no way he could lie there forever, waiting for someone to come save him, so he had to get out of the alley by himself.

It was tough getting moving again after lying in pain for who knows how long, but he managed to move one leg in front of the other until he was able to walk forward with a slight limp.

Although it wasn't easy, he continued on his path through the dark streets by leaning on the walls of nearby buildings for support, trying not to fall down every time he took a step.

In spite of his best efforts, Asher fell down numerous times before reaching the end of the alleyway, but he didn't stop because he knew he couldn't afford to stop. He had to keep going, no matter what happened.

In this state of despair, he decided to only think of making his way to a free public hospital for treatment before taking the time to sort out everything else later. So, Asher walked in the direction of the nearest hospital in his mind.

By the time Asher arrived at the emergency entrance of the public hospital, his legs had given out under him.

When he raised his head, he saw several people rushing towards him, shouting at him to stay awake, but their voices sounded muffled due to the ringing in his ears.

Then darkness overcame Asher once again as he lost consciousness for the second time tonight.

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"Another John Doe has just been admitted into the ICU. He has multiple internal injuries, including several cracked ribs and broken bones. His vitals are very weak, and the doctors say it's a miracle he's alive considering the amount of blood loss and trauma inflicted upon him. There is a possibility of permanent damage to his brain."

"I heard he was attacked by some thugs in a dark alleyway; whoever did this must have hated him real bad to do all that... The poor guy didn't deserve it. Anyway, the police will take care of it soon enough."

"Wait! A young man like this? Why would anyone try to kill him? It makes no sense whatsoever."

"What do you know about common gang violence these days, you old hag?! Even children join gangs nowadays! Just look at this kid's body; his limbs are all covered with bruises, and I bet he's not even older than 18. Who knows what kind of life he's living or where he came from? Now excuse me, but I need to go home; my husband is waiting for me. You can continue gossiping about this case alone."

The loud noises woke Asher up from his unconsciousness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by white walls and various machines around him. There was an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, along with several IV drips connected to his arm.

As soon as Asher noticed this, memories flashed through his mind and reminded him of the pain that came with those images. "It's not a dream after all. Everything that I went through as Asher Blake was not a reality, and I was just hallucinating from being comatose!"

Asher thought and felt a sense of loss, regret, and hopelessness, which made his eyes sting and tears run down his cheeks.