Chapter 210: Curse Guiding (10)

Ayen ignored Khal, watching them, used to such a scene. If anything, his presence only gave more security.

“We can try and see,” Ayen casually replied to Devion’s skepticism.

Yes, it was unlikely that anything would happen. Ayen was clearly a guide and not an esper, and even if he pulled any tricks… There were two SS-class espers present here.

Thinking of it as such, Devion relaxed his mood and simply waited.

This time, Ayen put on a serious expression. He was not going for minimal guiding, and something might happen while he guided Devion here.

He took a deep breath and looked Devion in the eye.

“I’m starting,” he informed.

It was more to say to Devion in his subconscious and be ready. As a guide, he already had an instinctive premonition of whether guiding someone would be simple enough or something troublesome.

Ayen was even more perceptive than average, if not most guides, having a uniqueness of his own. Even without it, he already expected it the moment he saw such a degree of curse corruption in Devion’s wavelength.

He then closed his eyes, blocking out all disturbance and clearing his mind. Ayen knew a certain point where the curse would show itself…

His wavelength activated and soon flowed inside Devion with practiced ease.

He did not doubt in the slightest that their compatibility had always been there, and was so confident when he offered that he could guide them.

Ayen braced himself for any resistance, and yet none happened. He did not lower his guard when his guiding energy slowly entered the stream and began guiding Devion…

That was when the anomaly started.

Ayen’s head became heavy, and his body seemed to have been frozen where he stood. A deafening silence overwhelmed him, as though everything in his surroundings vanished with only him left standing in that place.

For a second, Ayen thought of opening his eyes and checking it out to see if Khal and Devion were still there. His heart sped up, and anxiety quickly bubbled up inside him.

If it were the Ayen before, he would not bat an eyelid in such a scene; loneliness was something that accompanied him every day.

Yet, Ayen had already tasted the sweetness of having companions… The feeling of loneliness had been directly overshadowed.

Ayen became afraid. That fear, rooted in being alone again, started to rise up, making his whole being cold and distraught.

However, just as Ayen was about to stop what he was doing and open his eyes to see if his two espers were still around, a warmth in his chest made him pause.

That warmth quickly spread to his being, dispelling the cold. His mind then cleared, and Ayen could not help but let out a heavy sigh.

If not for the realm core inside him, then…

What an insidious bastard…

The curse targeted this part of him, indicating its expertise in corrupting the mind. Ayen had a lot of vulnerabilities, but those were hard to target without any triggers.

However, loneliness was directly tied to him, and Khal and Dveion were one of the perfect triggers to this.

Ayen still felt he stood in a place where he was alone. Although his hand was actually holding Devion’s hand, he was too numb to feel any sensations.

That was not important anymore. He actually did not need to feel it, as he was inside Devion’s subconscious. In reality, their hands were holding each other firmly.

With this realization, Ayen ignored the haunting silence and let his guiding energy surge through the channel his instincts told him.

Surely, the curse would not let Devion guide so easily.

The silence grew infinitely long until it was no longer.

Incomprehensible voices lingered around his ears, obstructing his concentration. Soon, some of them became clear, whispering in his ears or even in his mind.

“Do you think they like you?”

A laugh, far more sinister than one could imagine.

“They are using you…”

“Ayen, we are just using you.” It was Devion’s voice.

Ayen bit his lips, his mind wanting to focus on the warmth provided by the core. It made his mind clear enough, but some part of him could not help but be affected, especially as it was Devion’s voice saying this.

The voice was soft, perfectly copying Devion’s tone.

“…you know that. You’re too naive. A little affection, and now you’re here, risking your life for me.”

“Ayen, between you and Khal… I will never choose you.”

Ayen’s expression sank slightly. The guiding energy slowed down. There was malicious laughter that followed, as though finally finding out where it hurts the most.

“Sooner or later, when you don’t have use anymore.”

A chuckle sounded at the back of his mind. And this time, the voice seemed to become the combination of Devion’s and Khal’s voices.

“We’ll abandon you… Ayen…”

Ayen’s heart faltered. The darkness inside him seemed to be wanting to rise to the surface. The curse targeted his initial insecurity. It had never left him.

However, Khal and Devion were simply too good at not letting him dwell on that anymore and showing him how important and irreplaceable he was.

Could it be…

Suddenly, a burst of warmth exploded in his chest. It quickly spread, and Ayen felt tired at its cost.

Ayen snapped out of his thoughts, and the first thing he did was to supply more guiding energy to the channel, faster than before.

When he swallowed, Ayen felt a taste of iron in his mouth. Oh, so he was bleeding.

If his form now was his subconscious manifestation, it meant Ayen was also bleeding in reality.

Thinking of Khal, alone and protecting them both, the darkness that was only about to rise up let out a howl before they were eventually buried once more in his deepest.

“Ayen…” the voice continued, but it became incomprehensible now. Ayen chose to continue in his guiding. And the realm core gave him more warmth than before; it spun much faster, too.

Which somehow gave a tingling pain inside him.

Of course, the realm core also had its cost and might have been drawing power from his wavelength.

Realizing this, he had to finish this first session quickly. The voices became desperate; some of their words became audible again.

Ayen almost cursed it. If the realm core were drawing power from him, did that mean… Was this curse doing the same to Devion? A parasite.

He gritted his teeth and continued without stopping.

“I won’t choose you over Khal, Ayen.”

Ayen was not triggered by it this time around. In fact, his lips curled at the result.

’There’s no need to choose,’ he responded in his mind. ’We’re all together.’

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