Shadow of Death (SOD)

EPISODE 52

"..."

So far, Jesse’s whole limbs were gone, and only her head and torso were left.

Quickly picking himself up, Asher looked around and hurriedly jumped down from the bed.

Alas!

His sudden movement caused Jesse’s head to turn in his direction.

Her eyes were still shut as she continued undergoing her transformation.

Yet, somehow, her head found itself pointing directly towards Asher.

This caused the boy to freeze for a second.

His heart skipped a beat.

But then, shaking his head, he quickly picked himself up and bolted towards the door with all the speed he could muster.

Jesse’s human mouth cracked open slightly.

Then—

A high-pitched scream tore out with so much force that the window and whatever glass remained in the room began cracking massively.

Asher froze in his tracks.

His hands instinctively shot towards his ears, covering them as hard as he could.

CRACK! CRACK!

The glass and window in the room shattered as Jesse’s banshee-like scream filled the entire room.

Blood began dripping from Asher’s nose.

He didn’t care.

Neither did he dare remove his hands from his ears.

The scream continued for several seconds.

And then—

Something wrapped tightly around his legs.

Before he could realise what was going on, Asher was dragged down... hard.

His face smashed into the ground, crimson droplets falling from his nose.

Turning around frantically, he could see that only Jesse’s neck upward remained.

Grabbing the ground with all his might, Asher tried his best to resist the Shadow from dragging him away.

However, the Shadow possessed a level of strength that made Asher’s efforts seem completely futile.

"Damn it!" Asher growled loudly.

But when he turned to look at Jesse once more, all the strength in his body was suddenly sapped away.

’What even is the use? I have lost everything and the will.’

His fingers slowly loosened their grip on the ground.

He let go of whatever he had been gripping and willingly allowed Shadow Jesse to drag him away and do whatever she so desired.

As he was being dragged, he closed his eyes, feeling the wind hit him in the face.

’Huh? Wind?’

His eyes flew open.

He was suddenly getting farther and farther away from Jesse and the room.

’Huh? I’m in the air?’

How had he suddenly ended up in the air?

But when he looked back at Jesse, he could see a tear rolling down her eye.

Her mouth cracked open as if she wanted to say something, but unfortunately, no words came out as her lips had already turned into shadows.

Bang—!

His body crashed into the door, sending it flying open.

His body hit the ground hard, rolling away like a ragdoll.

Asher’s mind spun as he desperately tried to come up with a conclusion about what had just happened.

’Wait... did-did Jesse fight with the curse long enough to throw me away? She—’

Tears began welling up in his eyes as the realisation hit him.

He came to a tumbling halt.

He could see that the Shadow was seconds away from completing its transformation.

Clenching his jaws, Asher looked around and spotted one of the rooms in the house.

"Argh...."

He bashed his hand into the ground and shot to his feet.

Then, with adrenaline-fuelled speed, he darted towards the door while sensing Jesse’s Shadow giving chase.

It was fast.

Faster than an average human.

’I-I’m sorry, Jesse. I know that you want me to live. But-But I just can’t.’

He burst into the room and then spun around, closing the door behind him.

BANG!

The Shadow crashed into the door as Asher began locking it as fast as he could.

When he was done, he took a few steps backward, putting some distance between himself and the door.

"...."

His heart beat loudly with each passing second.

He feared that the Shadow would somehow slip through the door like ghosts in a movie.

But several seconds passed.

Yet, the Shadow refused to come in.

Asher could sense it outside, patrolling around the door like some sort of security guard.

Turning around, Asher took in the scope of the room.

He finally realised which room he had walked into.

It was his parents’ room.

A pang of emotion slammed into Asher’s chest as his mind flashed back to the faces of both his parents.

Then, those memories twisted.

They switched back to the way he had lost them.

One by one.

Jack.

Clara.

Jayden.

And finally, Jesse.

Their faces flashed before his eyes one after another.

Tears came steamrolling down the boy’s face.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Asher hollered, his head craning upward as his voice echoed through the room.

Saliva dripped from the sides of his lips.

"YOU WIN! YOU FUCKING WON AND I LOST! AAAAAAH!"

His voice cracked as the tears continued streaming down his face.

Asher swung his leg to the side, bashing it into the drawer and causing it to creak open.

He didn’t immediately notice.

His vision had become blurry from the overwhelming amount of tears gathering in his eyes.

Falling to his knees in front of the opened drawer, Asher could be heard sobbing loudly.

Sadness overwhelmed him, making him feel so suffocated that his mind began spinning with dizziness.

Reaching out for the opened drawer to steady himself, he suddenly heard something roll inside.

"....?!"

Asher blinked his eyes several times.

A few drops of tears rolled down his cheeks as his vision slowly cleared.

This allowed him to see a bottle filled with white pills inside the drawer.

Reaching out for the bottle, he picked it up and silently read the name.

"Sleeping pills."

Instantly, a thought appeared in his mind the moment he saw the pills.

Clenching his jaws, he lifted his head and looked towards the wall that housed the frame of his whole family.

Jack.

Clara.

Jayden.

Jesse.

And even Asher himself.

Everyone was there.

Everyone except the family he had left.

"Gu-Guys, I’m sorry. I can’t remain strong for long. I-I just can’t live without you all."

His voice trembled as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks.

Reaching for the cap of the bottle, he twisted it open, revealing a dozen white pills inside.

Gritting his teeth as tears continued rolling down his eyes, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"If we can’t be together because of this cursed city, then you all should wait for me. I’m on my way."

And then, with no hesitation at all, Asher swung the bottle into his mouth.

More than six pills rushed into his mouth at once as he threw his head backward.

GULP—!

He swallowed all the pills instantly.

"Ba...thump.... Ba...thump...."

His heartbeat suddenly increased with powerful intensity, causing his vision to blur.

The bottle slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground, spilling some of the pills across the floor.

Asher’s breath ceased for a moment, as if the oxygen in the room had suddenly been yanked away from his vicinity.

This caused him to grab the bed beside him for balance.

But he only managed to grab the bedsheet instead.

He dragged it from the bed as he fell to the ground, the sheet falling over his body.

Asher grabbed his neck as veins began bulging around it.

His eyes became almost bloodshot as he glared into the ceiling.

His teeth gnashed tightly.

The images of his family members flashed through his mind one after another.

’It hasn’t been long since Jesse turned into a Shadow. So if his offer is r-real, it would take a while to activate so I can also go into the Nightmare, yeah?’

"...."

"Huuuu...."

Asher began gasping for air with all his might.

Saliva dribbled down his lips as he continued glaring into the air.

An image appeared in his mind.

A pair of crimson eyes surrounded by obsidian mist.

His teeth gritted.

"I-I-I promise you-yo... huuuuu.... If I get a second chan-chance in this li-life, I will make you pay ten-ten-tenfold for ever-ev-"

Asher’s vision was beginning to wane.

His consciousness drifted away with each passing second.

Soon, his hands slid down from his neck and fell limply to his sides.

Droplets of tears slid down the corners of his eyes as he took one last breath.

His eyes fluttered closed.

".... Everything."

He silently uttered the final word before slowly drifting into sleep.

"..."

<DING!>

<Searching....>

<Welcome, Dreamer Asher; Your Nightmare has begun.>

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