Dariusâ eyes were red, and they were tearing up ever so slightly. He didnât say anything; instead, he tried to channel all the gold life force he possessed into Bridgetâs body. Soon, she felt like sheâd recovered. She opened her eyes, looking more spirited than before. She frowned at him disapprovingly and tried to push him away, but Darius stopped her immediately. He looked more relaxed than before, but his tone was grim as he said, âYouâre not completely okay yet, and nothingâs more important now than your recovery.â Bridget didnât say anything. Darius continued, âBesides, you must get well as soon as possible. I still need your help with plenty of things.âBridget looked at him with a smile and nodded. She was a little choked up as she said, âYes, sir.â She had many questions but didnât have the nerve to ask them at the moment. When Darius was sure she was fine, he reached out and pulled her to her feet. They stood atop a pile of debris that used to make up the Anderson familyâs
âIt all boils down to one thingâyou and I are on opposing sides!â As Teivel spoke, his gaze landed behind the old manâs spirit and on his body. His face turned frosty, and his breathing sped up. He turned back to look at the old man and said, âHowever, since weâre both still alive, we should leave the past behind us. Now, itâs time to settle new grudges.âThe old man narrowed his eyes. âYou mean like how you stole my disciple?âTeivelâs lips twitched. Then, he shook his head. âNo, like how you stole my body.âAn ugly look crept onto the old manâs face at his words. He glared at Teivel as his face started to twist with rage again. He roared, âNo, this is my body! Itâs mine!âAt this moment, Darius could still hear what was happening. He wanted to do something but could only watch as his body and soul slowly merged. Heâd never been this impatient for something to happen, and he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself. It didnât work. Suddenly, he felt something warm drip onto him,
Darius felt like he was going to freeze over. He was dazed when he opened his eyes and saw that his vision had recovered. At the same time, he realized he was floating in mid-air. Teivel was standing before his body, and the old man was standing before Teivel. The old manâs face was as twisted as beforeânone of his features were in their original spots, which meant there was no way of telling what exactly he looked like. Dariusâ lips twitched as he walkedâno, floatedâover to his body.He frowned, reluctant to take his defeat lying down. He knew he had to be dead this time. However, the moment this thought popped into his mind, he knew he was wrong. When he floated over to his body, both Teivel and the old man turned to look at him, but their expressions were completely different. The former looked worried, while the latter looked murderous.Teivel said, âGet out of here. Lie down in your body; youâll return to normal soon enough.â Darius looked surprised but still did as he was told
Teivel smiled; it had been a while since heâd last smiled so earnestly. He sounded joyful, saying, âIâm glad to hear you refer to me like that.â After a pause, he continued, âHe looks like that because he spent far too long in my body. Besides, heâs always done his best to imitate me.â He started to sound proud. âIâm sure you can now tell how exemplary I am.âDariusâ lips twitched. He didnât expect Teivel to be in the mood for self-praise now. He turned to the old man and said, âYouâve imitated my mentor for many years.âThe old man didnât even blink. A few seconds later, he suddenly stretched out an arm in Dariusâ direction, immediately obscuring Dariusâ vision with his life force. Unfortunately for him, Darius had already shut his eyes and allowed the life force to push him backward. He knew he couldnât fight fire with fire when going up against the old man, so heâd prepared himself for this.The old manâs eyes widened when he saw Darius being sent flying. He thought Darius would
Dariusâ gaze sharpened. The old man put his hands behind his back and looked at Darius appraisingly, allowing his gaze to travel over Darius. Darius didnât say anything. Instead, he calmly lifted his head to meet the old manâs eyes. In that instant, he felt dazed, but he soon returned to his senses and enveloped himself in his life force. This time, the old man was the one who looked dazed. Similarly, he also returned to his senses a second later. He looked shocked. âI canât believe I still share the same tastes as that old fartâwe both chose you to take after us.âDarius frowned, a complicated look flitting across his face. He thought the old man had only discovered he was still alive; he didnât expect him to also know about Teivel. Darius slowly retracted his arms and got to his feet. The old man frowned and stared at a spot on Dariusâ arm, following it wherever it went. It made Dariusâ hair stand on end. It seemed the old man was more powerful than he expectedâfrom the moment he
âWhat are you standing there for? Absorb the life force! The more you absorb, the less heâll have! It may not have been obtained through the most innocuous of ways, but weâd be doing the public a favor by absorbing it,â Teivel said.Darius smiled, then sat down again and shut his eyes to start meditating. However, he opened them again almost immediately and asked, âWhere are we? Iâve been meaning to ask for a long time now.âTeivel sounded impatient, saying, âQuit asking questions, or heâll discover youâre here before you get anything out of this! This is a world built from your consciousness, but another world outside of yours belongs to him.âDarius raised an eyebrow. Heâd never heard of these things before, and his hands paused in mid-air. He was so surprised that he forgot all about absorbing the life force, and his eyes widened. His gaze swept over his surroundings, but nothing seemed familiar to him. Teivelâs words were becoming more and more believable to himâŠand it seemed lik
Teivel looked flustered as he said, âOh, stop sticking your nose into my business, young one. Iâm leaving, so youâd better get out of here as quickly as possible. If he finds out youâre playing dead in his world, youâll be dead meat.â After that, he disappeared with the book.Darius narrowed his eyesâthe way Teivel had disappeared differed from before. He put his hands behind his back, wanting to know more about these two old men, but this evidently wasnât the right time. He sat down and crossed his legs. Even though he didnât know what had happened earlier, he knew there was something different in his mind. It was both terrifying and curiousâthe fact that Teivel could easily plant something that didnât belong to him in his mind meant that it was easy enough to tamper with someoneâs memories. As he pondered this, he sensed the outside world quaking. Once again, he felt smothered.This time, Darius wasnât as panicked as before. In fact, it felt like the last time he panicked was ages
As soon as his words fell, the old manâs voice boomed from all directions, making Darius feel like his ears were going to go deaf. âI hear you, but you canât deny the result would be the same if I were to employ another method, right?âDarius stiffened; his face was starting to turn grey from the lack of oxygen, and his vision was blurry. However, he remained on his feet despite his wavering body. Heâd never realized how hard it was to hold on and stay strong. He tried to look around again, but his actions only made him use his oxygen faster. Finally, he stopped breathing. The old man sighed. âYou were destined to die, especially because of your obstinacy.âUnbeknownst to him, Darius hadnât actually died. On the contrary, he seemed to have been transported to another world. Everything there was shrouded in darkness, and he could feel strong gusts of wind billowing around him. He raised an eyebrowâthis was his first time seeing something like this. He wanted to stand up but felt like