NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1194: Fractured Self
Adam and Merene silently landed on a thick branch. Before them, down the slope of verdant trees, the ruins of an ancient city sprawled across the jungle floor.
The view was stunning. Only if Adam still had his eyesight, he could see the colorful scenery before him. Regardless, through the colorless world of the Sphere of Resonance, he could still faintly make out what lay ahead.
The jungle parted just enough for them to glimpse the lost city below, its stone structures half swallowed by time and nature. Vines could be seen crawling up broken archways, while in many places colossal trees emerged from shattered plazas.
Faded spires and broken statues erupted above the dense, green canopy. It was still early in the morning, so patches of mist could be seen clinging to the ruins, curling between crumbled buildings and dilapidated streets.
From this height, the ruins looked both majestic and mournful. It was a reminder of a once proud civilization claimed by the inevitable ravages of time.
Merene took a few moments to take in the view, her lips curling into a faint smile. She couldn't help but say, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
It was only after the words left her mouth did she realize the blunder. Her smile froze, and she slowly looked towards Adam.
"…Sorry, I didn't mean to…" she awkwardly began.
But she was interrupted by Adam's laughter.
"It's alright. I told you, didn't I?" he said with a grin. "There are other ways to see."
Merene tilted her head, her emerald eyes flashing with curiosity. "What do you see exactly? Are you using a spell?"
"No, I…" Adam's smile turned brilliant at the fact that he was unable to cast spells.
"It's a sensory technique I developed in my youth. It helps me observe the world around me through my mind's eye. Though I can't see any colors," he concluded.
"A technique you developed when you were young?" Merene raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "You must have been some kind of genius back at home."
"Yeah… I was," Adam softly said, his lips curling upward. "They used to call me the greatest genius on the continent."
Merene simply observed Adam's side profile. Though there was a bright smile on his charred, hideous face, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel pity towards the young man.
In these past months that they'd spent together, traveling the jungles of Mabi and fighting magical beasts, she had, on many occasions, tried to learn about his past. But Adam would always laugh at those questions, then steer the topic away.
So Merene didn't try to probe further. She figured that there must be some deep trauma in Adam's past that made him not want to talk about it. She even believed that this trauma was probably related to his current appearance.
Just as she was lost in her own thoughts, Adam suddenly spoke up, his voice barely a whisper:
"I used to be a King, but now… I'm just a ghost."
Silence descended between the two, with Adam lowering his head and smiling like a fool, and Merene glancing at him with slight emotions in her eyes.
And right at that moment, the strangely familiar voice whispered:
"Ah, so pitiful."
Adam's smile froze. He turned his head slightly and spotted a figure standing on a nearby branch of a tree, arms crossed and leaning against the trunk, watching him with a sneer.
The white-robed Adam couldn't help but mock, "You're a fool, you know? A complete fool!"
Adam gritted his teeth in annoyance, then looked away, choosing not to indulge with his fractured self. It was evident to him that due to his soul fracturing into several pieces, his mind had greatly deteriorated.
First, he could only hear the voice. Then, he could faintly see a shadowy figure just at the corner of his vision. And now, almost one and a half years since the Battle of Ravenfell, he was even beginning to vividly see the figure.
The white-robe Adam, the fractured part of his self, now openly appeared before him from time to time, reprimanding him for every little thing.
"You're getting too comfortable, Adam," said the white-robed Adam, clicking his tongue and shaking his head in disappointment. "I warned you, didn't I? Stop wasting your time with her. Focus on your own path. But you just don't listen to me."
Adam gritted his teeth, his hands clenching involuntarily. He thought to himself in rage:
Shut the hell up! What do you know about pain? What do you know about loneliness? You know nothing! So, just shut the fuck up!
The white-robed Adam snickered. "Fool."
Suddenly, Merene called out to him with an awkward look on her face:
"Adam… who are you talking to?"
Adam's expression froze. He slowly turned to the elf and asked in surprise, "Did I… think out loud? Again?"
Merene's lips twitched. "Yes." She paused for a moment, then added, "Sorry, I… I'll refrain from asking questions about your past anymore."
"No, it's not your fault!" Adam blurted out. "It's just…"
"It's just what?" The white-robed Adam taunted with great delight. "It's just that you hear voices in your broken mind? It's just that you see things? What is it?"
Adam clutched at his head and gritted his teeth. "Just… shut up, already!"
"Oh…" Merene felt slightly confused, not knowing what she said now that made Adam act this way. "Uh, okay. Sorry, I'll just–"
"Not you!" Adam said to her, alarmed. "I wasn't talking to you!"
The white-robed Adam's hysterical laughter echoed through the woods.
Meanwhile, Merene frowned. "Then, who were you talking to?"
Adam gritted his teeth, frustration building in his heart. "No one, alright? I was just... talking to myself. Forget about it."
Merene intently looked at Adam, her thoughts a mystery. In the end, she simply sighed. "Alright, okay. Just… calm down, okay?"
Adam inhaled deeply, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm… I'm sorry."
Merene smiled faintly. "It's alright. Whatever you're going through, I'm sure you'll figure out a way to get it under control."
"Yeah, I guess so." Adam turned to her and smiled.
The white-robed Adam witnessed this interaction and couldn't help but shake his head. "Ah, you really are pathetic."
Meanwhile, the mimic strapped to Adam's back had never been more bewildered.
"Gege…"