Ash shook his head in bewilderment. His body felt covered in cold sweat, His heart racing from the shock. The actions he did against the father's ghost never happened; it was all in his head, like a vision or a bad premonition of things to come.
He looked at the father's body; nothing unusual, and no sign of a soul near it. He had to leave; staying any longer would make him more uncomfortable than if the vision came true.
Ash went outside, meeting up with Lita, who was waiting. She was signing the paperwork to have the body cremated as requested- no organ donation. She didn't want to curse anyone with his bad body parts. Lita begged Ash to take her back to the apartment; she wanted to shower and sleep the rest of the day away. Ash complied; he wanted some rest for himself too.
They made a stop first for food; Lita needed something in her stomach other than pity and sweets. Ash lied he wasn't hungry to avoid buying food he would never eat, not telling her he was feeling the faintest feeling of hunger for another soul. That problem would be dealt with later after he helped her out.
Sitting up against the futon while Lita slept, he cycled through his inventory of belongings and the list of abilities and skills with them. Ash sold the broken sword he used against the Berserker; now that it was useless, there was no reason to keep it anymore. The sword gave 10 strength points for the sale, a reasonable price given its broken state. The shop was getting easier to understand and use; buying from it was more rewarding than the trades. But the cost was much higher, especially with souls. The system explained that once Ash devoured a skull with a soul attached to it, the Darkmold would absorb all the potential and energy the soul had to fuel itself; afterward, all that was left was its existence and memories, which made it worth currency at that point. Selling items was more strict since the system didn't want anything unless it was from the shop itself or a supernatural-like item. Trading was easy since he'd done it so many times, but now it was becoming a burden; trading skills and abilities back and forth felt like he could keep none for himself or just something convenient in the moment.
"The little girl said the Darkmold evolves and adapts with each new host; the last one was a gamer, so maybe it got inspiration from that. Would explain why that armor I got looks more like Edgelord Connor Kenway than an old soldier. Wouldn't be surprised if the last host stole the idea of the new look from Assassin's Creed."
Ash knew the games; he saw Isaac play them on his downtime when he was a kid. When their parents died, Isaac was still in high school; he had to step up fast if he didn't want to lose Ash to any agencies that would have separated him. Thankfully, Amelia was a real ride-or-die for Isaac. She accepted early parenthood without hesitation when she met him and Ash.
Isaac played games, watched old 80s movies, and did other stuff when he needed to relieve stress or spend time with Ash. It was how Ash knew about old cinema and games and how he bonded with Lita better.
"Don't wanna rip off too much of that. The knife I got from the soldier fits perfectly on my right arm. I got enough guns for now and the axe; maybe I can buy some upgrade stones or books. Leaving for the academy soon, I need to be ready for anything."
Ash bought an upgrade stone with one soul; it made his trajectory ability go up to Grade level A. Now it could extend its reach and affect bullets with better control. Ash already used five souls to make the knives from Lita into real Reaver weapons.
Reavers were the names for weapons made from Kraegan bodies, designed to kill them more efficiently and their collars. Ash made the knives into them, since they were his signature anyway; he was going to keep using them even as himself. He decided not to use them as the Horsemen unless necessary or not near anyone who would recognize them.
They were 4 1/2inch long with a double-bladed edge and a crucifix grip design for the fingers to grab. Ash saw them once in a movie, and Lita saved for six months to buy them for him.
{Upgrade complete. System has completed upgrading Knives from normal weapons to Reaver class weapon function. Rank will increase with every kill; current rank Grade D.}
Ash felt insulted at the low rank; beggars couldn't be choosers, though, so he swallowed his pride at it.
The last thing he bought with one Kraegan skull was a small knife for Lita to have for protection. After which he closed the screen, staring up at the ceiling with his mind deep in questioning thoughts.
"Just what was that vision I saw? Was it some warning? The little girl said the pumpkin would bring out what's already inside. Do I really enjoy killing?"
Ash stared at one of his hands, seeing a hallucination of blood on it. He squeezed his hand, fighting back against the image.
"No, I don't enjoy it. Not at least against innocent people." Thinking of the memories of killing the Kraegans, a small crooked smile formed on Ash's face. "Kraegans- hearing them scream when I sliced them up, the look of despair on their faces like they made so many others feel. It was intoxicating."
The same green flame in Ash's vision in his left eye started to spark small. Leaning into the memories, even killing the HVA soldiers who caused many casualties and discrimination against those who could gain abilities, it felt amazing to him.
The inner monologue in his head laughed a bit. Thinking harder on those memories. "I think I know how to use this power now. I'm gonna murder all Kraegans, every last one of them. I won't kill humans unless I have no choice; I won't walk the path of the Horsemen of the past. I need to be better than them. If I'm gonna be a killer, I need to accept the crosses I'll bear for every life I take. All I know now is, It's gonna be a bloody good time killing those monsters."
Looking at the TV, the channel was set to the news, talking about the incident at the house along with other attacks the HVA was involved with, the Revhound army unable to help with their units spread so thin. Ash had a thought, a bad one, looking at the news like it was a message to him.
"Maybe it's time I celebrate Halloween a little early." He said as he licked his lips, looking at the soldiers on the TV acting arrogant in front of the cops.