Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 418: Another way

Chapter 418: Another way

His laughter echoed in the hall as he clutched his stomach while rising to his feet, his expression one filled with mockery as he glanced at Enoch.

"Enough!" Enoch bellowed in annoyance causing Alex to choke but regardless, he maintained an upright stance.

Taking a moment to breathe, he remarked. "You are right, Your Majesty. Compared to you, I am even lesser than an ant. Honestly, I’d thought I’d be able to do better but... I guess that was just my hubris."

"Indeed it was." Enoch nodded in agreement. "Bring back Ashtyx and I will not take your life, that is my promise. Do not do so and I will be forced to breach worlds to reclaim it."

Alex remained silent, merely staring back at Enoch causing the latter to frown.

"Has fear left you unable to muster a response?"

"Not at all. I can tell you now, I’ve faced fear and it wasn’t a pretty experience." Alex confessed.

"Then..."

"However, I cannot help but wonder... how many more times do you intend to fail before you stop?"

Furrowing his brows, Enoch inquired. "What are you talking about?"

"Ashtyx. You wish to accommodate it so you would be able to bring back the people of Thebes from their captivity in Limbo. Is that not right?"

"..."

"How many times have you tried to do that so far?... I mean, with all the body switching and mental breakdown episodes, I’m sure it’s difficult to keep count, right?"

"You should stop speaking now, Alexander. You are overstepping your boundaries."

"I only speak the truth, do you not wish to hear it?" Alex inquired, his tone laced with underlying mockery.

Enoch clenched his fist but otherwise remained silent.

"How many times have you tried?"

"..."

"I said, how many times..."

"9 times!" Enoch replied loudly, earning a smirk from Alex.

"And how many have you succeeded in?"

"..." Enoch lowered his head as he found himself unwilling to respond.

Seizing the opportunity, Alex questioned. "Don’t you think it’s time to take another route?... How many more years would Berenice and the people of Thebes have to wait for you to get it right?"

"... I just need a little more time," Enoch replied. "I’m closer than I ever was. As long as I can stabilize my condition, I will be able to accommodate it."

"Fine then, let’s make a bet," Alex suggested earning Enoch’s attention as he raised his head to meet his gaze.

"I will return Ashtyx and I will even help you accomodate it. However, fail to do so and you will have to let it go."

"I refuse."

"What do you have to lose!?... Absolutely nothing!... With this, you would be able to figure out once and for all if the path you wish to take is the right one."

Enoch faltered at that moment as Alex spoke the truth.

Doubt had plagued his mind ever since his 8th incarnation.

What if he was going about it all wrong?... What if he wouldn’t be able to accommodate the Godstone?... What if even if he did, it would be impossible to do what he wished to do?

Forced to recall those doubts, perhaps it was wise to take a different route this time.

So though hesitant, he ultimately responded. "Bring it back... then we can discuss specifics."

Unlike the Emperor, Alex didn’t hesitate as with a snap, he opened a pathway to Evernight and invited the Emperor in.

Enoch’s eyes flickered with uncertainty but he took steady steps forward and soon found himself standing before the portal.

"Do you not fear that I may destroy it all?" Enoch inquired.

Alex paused. "Do you regret what you did to this city?"

Enoch froze before glancing at Alex. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you not remember?... Well, Ana told me you might not. The summer of 9771 AD. Do you recall what you did?"

Enoch’s expression distorted as he grabbed his face with his hands, his mind slowly unraveling the specifics of what Alex was referring to.

At the same time, the blended world of utopia and dystopia quickly faded away, with the true state of the capital emerging before them.

It was a desolate land with nothing but ruin as far as the eyes could see.

The pungent smell of death hovered over the land while corpses, seemingly hundreds of years old, were left strewn all over with no one left to bury them.

But not all was destroyed as the structure they were in still had its roof intact but that was hardly a cause for celebration as the roof held a total of 24 transparent pod-like structures occupied by newborns that seemed to have no blemish.

Out of the 24, 9 were empty and with that, Alex finally understood how the Prince of Elena’s dream had managed to remain until the present day and most importantly, why he seemed to be completely out of it.

Most rituals utilized to prolong life usually had such consequences causing the Mystic to lose their identity or maybe their mind or perhaps even their pneuma, all as a result of degradation.

Perhaps the only reason the Emperor was able to preserve his identity and pneuma as long as he did was due to the effects of Ashtyx and his single-minded goal of saving Princess Berenice and the others stuck in Limbo, with his mental state being the damaged party.

Regardless, this only served to feed Alex’s curiosity as he moved to assist Enoch, utilizing Nyx’s authority to strengthen his control of Evernight to bring calm to Enoch’s troubled mind.

It did work and soon, Enoch was able to stabilize himself at which point the horrorscape they were in transformed back into the utopia it once was.

"You... Why?"

"To prove a point, Your Majesty. I am useful and so for that reason alone, you have no reason to destroy everything."

Enoch’s eyes widened in understanding before he sighed in resignation. "I believe there is much to be done."

Then he stepped into the portal after which Alex followed closely behind.

A moment later, the portal disappeared into the void of space.

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