"This is going to be so awkward…"
Asher sighed as he walked down the corridor, hands stuffed into his pockets.
"You were going to meet them eventually," Nephis said calmly while walking ahead of him. "It has already been a week since you came back."
Asher clicked his tongue softly.
One thing still bothered him.
Sunny had gone to Antarctica anyway.
Even without the fight with Nephis. Even without the same emotional spiral as canon, Sunny had still chosen to leave.
And somehow…
That worried Asher more.
Sunny didn't possess the same desperate grit he once had. Which meant something else had pushed him toward Antarctica.
Asher didn't know what.
But he did know one thing.
If he personally went there right now, he would be doomed.
Just imagining the sheer number of Gates made his head ache faintly.
Hence, if he wanted to help Sunny, Asher had to get stronger.
"We're here." Nephis finally broke him out of his reviere.
Hundreds of Awakened stood before him.
Silence filled the massive hall as countless eyes locked onto him at once.
Asher simply stood frozen as he scanned their faces. All of them were smiling, looking at him with respect and awe.
Nephis stopped beside him.
"Two hundred and sixteen Awakened," she said quietly. "Out of the five hundred and seventeen survivors of the Forgotten Shore, seventy-one chose independence."
Her gaze shifted toward the crowd.
"Two hundred and sixteen decided to pledge their loyalty to you."
Asher simply stared at them. If he was the same from a few years, maybe his knees would've buckled at the thought of being a leader of a team, much less hundreds of them.
Right now, however, Asher didn't feel his legs tremble. Instead... a sense of pride washed over him.
'They are... my people.'
"Hey, Asher! Care to give a speech?"
A familiar voice rang out from the crowd.
Asher narrowed his eyes before spotting Gemma smirking near the front.
His eyes widened immediately.
"You!?"
Gemma grinned wider.
Asher let out a long sigh before turning back toward everyone else.
"…Right. Listen up."
The hall slowly quieted.
Asher waited until every gaze settled on him before continuing.
"First of all…" he began awkwardly, "thanks for believing in me."
He immediately regretted saying it.
The cringe physically hurt him.
Still, he pushed through.
"Now, if any of you think you know me well…"
He raised two fingers.
"One—you probably don't."
A few chuckles spread through the crowd.
"And two…"
His expression sharpened slightly.
A subtle pressure descended over the hall—not enough to harm anyone, but enough to silence the remaining whispers instantly.
"The person you thought you knew doesn't exist anymore."
Several Awakened stiffened instinctively.
Then Asher clapped his hands once and smiled casually.
"What I mean is…" he said with a shrug, "Saint Zerei was partly an act."
The pressure vanished instantly.
"So if any of you were inspired by my supposed charity or selflessness…"
He grimaced slightly.
"You're probably going to be disappointed."
His gaze dropped briefly toward his own hand as he slowly clenched and unclenched it.
"The path I'm going to walk from now on is going to be dangerous. Long. Probably miserable too."
He glanced around the hall again.
"So if any of you want to leave, I won't stop you. Hell, if you want to leave right now, I'm completely fine with it."
He stood still for a moment, watching if someone left. Seeing that no one did, Asher nodded.
"Good. Now, I only have one rule to say."
He narrowed his eyes, " Don't try to be the 'hero'."
Turning to Gemma in particular, he spoke, "It may seem hypocritical of me, but there is nothing noble about sacrifice. Those Legacies are fools, and those who follow their principles are even bigger fools."
Several Awakened coughed awkwardly.
Beside him, Nephis narrowed her eyes slightly.
Asher immediately winced.
"…That includes me too," he added quickly. "I've been called an idiot plenty of times."
Nephis' stare softened marginally.
Asher exhaled in relief before continuing.
"Right now, all of you are technically still affiliated with Valor," he muttered bitterly. "Mostly because I got scammed by the princess of that damned clan."
The pressure beside him intensified instantly.
Asher coughed.
"Not this princess," he corrected quickly. "The other one."
Only then did Nephis look away.
Asher wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead before sighing.
"Anyway, while we're still connected to a Great Clan, enjoy the resources while you can."
"..."
Asher bit his lip staring at the silent crowd. Eventually, a vein popped on Asher's temple. "That's it. What more do you want me to say fuckers?! I love you all?"
Finally, the crowd exhaled,
"There's the real boss!"
"He's actually terrible at speeches!"
"I still can't believe this is the same Saint Zerei!"
"Fool! Hou and Aiko wrote those speeches for him! Do you really think he came up with all that himself?!"
Asher froze.
Then slowly turned toward the laughing crowd with genuine betrayal on his face.
"…Aren't you people supposed to be my followers?" he asked weakly. "Why are you making fun of me?"
Nephis seemed to think for a moment before answering.
"Ah. That."
She glanced toward him calmly.
"Sunny spent quite a while with the Abyss Hounds back in the Chained Isles."
Asher's expression slowly began to pale.
Nephis continued mercilessly.
"I think he made sure they learned everything about you."
"…What."
"Most of it was exaggerated stories about your embarrassing moments," she added. "But since Sunny can't lie…"
Her expression softened slightly.
"I think he just wanted to keep morale high."
The laughter around them continued.
"They waited two years for you, after all."
Asher became quiet.
He looked around the room again.
At the smiling faces.
"…They did."
For a brief moment, something warm flickered in his chest again.
Then—
A grin spread across his face.
"Oh."
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I'm absolutely getting revenge on him."
________
Asher walked down the corridor in silence.
The echoes of laughter from the hall had long faded behind him.
Nephis had gone off to deal with her own responsibilities, while Gemma was busy organizing the Abyss Hounds.
So now—
He was alone.
His footsteps rang softly against the floor as he moved forward with his hands in his pockets, gaze lowered slightly.
For some reason, an uncomfortable feeling twisted in his chest.
What was happening to him?
"…Did I really have to do that?"
The words slipped out quietly.
Asher slowed his steps.
Back there, when he had offered everyone the chance to leave…
He hadn't relied on words alone.
He had used [Burden of Weight].
More specifically—
He had lightened the weight of loyalty while increasing the weight of betrayal.
The manipulation had only lasted a brief moment. The targets had already been loyal to begin with, so the effect hadn't needed to be strong.
And yet... Even with all that—
Nearly half his essence had vanished instantly.
Half.
Asher exhaled slowly.
That was terrifying.
Especially considering he possessed five cores.
It seemed conceptual manipulation consumed an absurd amount of soul essence.
"…Stop."
His fist slammed into the nearby wall.
—BOOM!
Cracks spread instantly across the surface like a spiderweb as fragments of stone scattered onto the floor.
Asher stood there silently, breathing unevenly.
Why was he analyzing it right now?
Why?
He had just manipulated the emotions of people who trusted him.
People who believed in him.
And instead of feeling horrified—
His first instinct had been to evaluate the efficiency of the ability.
His hand trembled slightly.
"What the hell is wrong with me…?"
For a brief moment, the corridor felt colder.
"This isn't Dahila.."
No, it wasn't. Not directly at least.
Ever since his 2nd nightmare, his mental barrier broke.
The barriers he had built around himself—the walls he had carefully maintained for years—had shattered during the nightmare.
And once those walls disappeared…
Everything he had buried behind them started resurfacing.
That also meant—
Asher was slowly becoming the person he used to be.
A memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Back when he saw his DSM file at his therapist's office.
[Possible Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID): Unconfirmed.]
Asher froze.
His breathing slowed.
For several long seconds, he simply stared ahead blankly.
Soon, A quiet laugh escaped his mouth.
"…Ah."
Suddenly, a horrifying thought crossed his mind.
What if the person he was right now…
Was not entirely him?
________
[A/N: finally getting a bit of sneak 'peak' (get it? 😭) into Asher's powers.]