Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 60

Just as quickly as morning had come, night had already descended, and the family was gathered around the dinner table like it was some sort of ritual.

Asher had spent the entire day in his room, watching anime, reading light novels, and even sleeping for several hours.

He had only woken up a few minutes ago, yet he felt completely refreshed.

Whatever taunts his siblings had thrown at him earlier that morning had already been pushed to the back of his mind.

Right now, food was the only thing occupying his attention.

Asher devoured his meal like a wolf that hadn’t eaten in weeks.

For some reason, he was unusually hungry.

Yes, he hadn’t eaten much in the morning.

He hadn’t even bothered eating in the afternoon.

And yes, he was hungry.

But normally, he could handle such hunger.

He could even go an entire day without eating if he had to.

Yet now, here he was, practically devouring the plate of beans in front of him.

Beans.

A type of food he absolutely disliked with all his might.

He didn’t understand it.

He simply had no choice but to eat while his family threw awkward glances his way, looking at him as though they were watching some strange animal tear through its food.

Asher eventually finished everything on his plate.

He leaned back slightly and let out an unconscious burp of satisfaction.

"Want mine?" Jesse called out as she attempted to push her plate toward him.

Asher shook his head.

"I’m full."

He patted his stomach and relaxed into his chair.

Now that he had finished eating like a beast, the others could finally eat their food in silence and peace while Asher simply watched them.

For some reason, a subtle smile always appeared on his face whenever he looked at each member of his family.

It was strange.

He couldn’t explain it.

Every time his eyes landed on one of them, a warmth spread through his chest.

Almost like he hadn’t seen them in days.

Almost like he had been separated from them for far longer than he could remember.

Within minutes, they were all finished with dinner.

Jesse and Asher gathered the dirty dishes and carried them into the kitchen to wash them.

Five minutes later, they were done and returned to the living room.

They all settled into their usual spots.

The TV remained off.

Crackle—!

Bang—!

The sound of thunder suddenly rumbled outside, causing everyone to lift their heads toward the ceiling as though the thing might collapse on top of them.

Another deafening bang followed.

Then—

The downpour began.

Drops of rain battered the roof overhead, creating a constant rhythmic sound that filled the house.

"Close the windows," Clara ordered.

Asher and Jayden quickly moved, shutting the windows that had been left slightly open and allowing a chilly wind to creep inside.

The cold air brushed against their bodies, causing some of them to shudder.

Once they were done, Asher also proceeded to turn off the AC before crashing back onto his sofa and pulling out his phone.

Clara rested her head against Jack’s shoulder.

Their arms were interlocked as they quietly whispered to one another.

Jesse was playing a dress-up game on her pad.

Meanwhile, Asher and Jayden chatted with whoever they wanted through their phones.

The rain continued pouring outside, bringing with it a cold, damp atmosphere.

For several moments, everything felt peaceful.

Normal.

Almost too normal.

Asher slowly lifted his gaze from his phone.

His eyes settled on Jayden sitting across from him.

He stared at his brother for a few seconds.

Then he looked back down at his phone.

’This scene seems familiar.’

His brows knitted together in suspicion as his gaze unconsciously dropped toward his legs.

For some reason, he half expected to see a bucket of cold water beneath them, with his legs submerged inside.

’Huh? Why would I be dipping my legs in a bucket filled with cold water?’ he mused inwardly, a frown settling across his face.

He couldn’t understand where the thought had come from.

It felt completely random.

Yet the feeling attached to it was strangely familiar.

A flash of lightning suddenly illuminated his face.

And with it—

A flash of memory.

It was only a fragment.

It came and disappeared as quickly as the lightning outside, leaving Asher with nothing solid enough to grasp.

He frowned even deeper.

What had he just seen?

He tried to reach for the memory, to pull it back before it disappeared completely.

But it was already gone.

Only the strange feeling remained.

He was about to delve deeper when Jack suddenly spoke.

"Man... I’m so bored. Isn’t there something we can do together as a family?"

Jesse lifted her head for a second, glanced toward her father, then returned her attention to the screen.

"Well, you all can watch me play games though."

Jayden shook his head.

He didn’t even look up as he continued typing away on his phone.

"I have no idea of any activity."

Asher’s mind was blank too.

He simply shrugged and looked back at his phone, calmly scrolling through the screen.

"Mehn... this Nightmare is boring."

The words suddenly escaped his mouth.

"....?!!!"

The entire atmosphere seemed to freeze.

"Huh? Nightmare? What do you mean by that?" Clara questioned, her face darkening.

Asher blinked.

His own words seemed to confuse him more than they confused everyone else.

"I-I-I don’t know what I-I meant by that. Nightmare? I must have meant this whole place is boring."

Clara heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed back into her husband’s arms.

"Oh."

’Hm? What was that? A Nightmare? The hell was that? Am I beginning to tweak?’

Asher stared at his phone again, but his attention was no longer on the screen.

His mind kept circling around the strange word he had just uttered.

Nightmare.

Why had he said that?

Where had it come from?

"...."

"Man... if you all have no idea what to do, my wife and I need to go back to our room and rest for tomorrow’s activities," Jack announced as he stood to his feet, dragging Clara up with him.

"Oh, come on, Jack. I don’t want to go," Clara pleaded as she staggered to her feet.

"We need to sleep. The weather is perfect for sleeping." Jack countered with a sinister grin on his face.

Jayden lifted his brows as he looked at his parents before chuckling inwardly.

"Uh-huh... sleep? Sure, sure. Let’s all retire to our rooms."

Jack nodded in approval.

He grabbed Clara by the waist, then pointed ahead with a smile on his face.

"Come on, let’s go."

"But the kids—"

"—Don’t worry, Mum. We are leaving for our rooms now. Go to your husband already. Besides, didn’t you say you were exhausted? Don’t worry, Dad’s gonna massage your body."

Jayden cut her off with a subtle grin.

He grabbed his phone and shoved it into his pocket.

Clara sighed and began walking away with a pout on her face.

Jack looked at Jayden and gave him a thumbs-up with a smirk on his face.

Then he leaned closer and whispered,

"I owe you one."

"Are you coming or not?" Clara growled over her shoulder.

"I’m coming, darling."

Jack immediately rushed forward.

Asher stared at the exchange and couldn’t help but laugh aloud in his mind.

’Man, I so much love this family. Can’t replace them for anything in this world. Hahaha! I will miss—uh... what?’

His smile slowly faded.

He frowned.

’Tsk! I need to also return to my room.’

The strange feeling disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.

Asher stood upright and watched as his siblings also began leaving the living room.

He stretched for a moment, his arms rising above his head, before letting out a long yawn.

’...Now that I’m done with high school, it’s time to binge-watch that anime I’ve been putting off. What was it called again?’

He paused.

"Uh... Karuto?"

His brows furrowed as he searched his memory.

"Yeah. Let’s go."

Satisfied that he had remembered it, Asher turned around and retired to his room with a contented look on his face.

Behind him, the living room gradually fell silent.

Outside, the rain continued pouring.

Its relentless drumming against the roof grew louder, accompanied by occasional strikes of thunder that shook the night.

Crackle—!

Bang—!

And somewhere within the darkness beyond the windows, the night remained completely still.

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