"I am becoming like Asura…?" Rudy asked himself.
Rudy wasn't worried about what Rebecca had told him. What made him ponder the thought was that she was right, and he didn't realize what he was doing.
'It isn't about right or wrong and good or evil. It's not about morals and ethics. I have long forgotten all those words. The problem is that I wasn't aware of what I was doing.
Just to find information about Elise, I was ready to seek the first reality to obtain the power of time. I was ready to leave everything behind to chase that power. I don't even know if the first reality exists… it might have been destroyed a long time ago.
Even Asura wasn't completely sure that the absolute power of the first reality was— time. It might be something else. He was wrong about my powers and his own powers, after all.
Still, I was ready to commit myself to finding that power. I was prepared to destroy the earth and create a new one if it was truly necessary. Isn't that what Asura did?
He created countless lives and killed them when they didn't turn out how he wanted. And now… I was using my powers without being aware of the results. Am I getting blinded by my powers?
No… that's not the right question to ask. What I want to know is… am I walking on Asura's path and following his footsteps?
Will… I one day… become like him? He was pitiable… powerful, but pitiable. Everything he said during our battle didn't make sense. It seemed like a bunch of bullshit. But after giving them a thought… I can understand half of what he said was true and absolutely necessary.
Will the day come when I would think Asura was completely right and all his actions…. killing countless planets and innocent… was the right thing to do?
Till the end… Asura remained pitiable.
And ultimately, he killed himself out of guilt and regret. Will I end up the same as him?'
That's what worried Rudy the most.
After giving it a deep thought, Rudy shook his head and said, "No. Asura became like this because he was always alone and didn't have anyone with him. While it's different for me.
I have people for me when I want them. I have a harem of beautiful girls who would always be there for me and stop me if I take Asura's path… just like mom stopped me a while ago.
No matter what happens…" Rudy looked at his hands and then turned them around to look at his nails. He saw a half of them had turned pure black while the rest of them were turning brown, seemingly in the process of becoming black too.
'Not again…'
Rudy plucked his nails out and forced them to grow again, just like they naturally should.
'I did that last night. The duration is getting less and less. I don't know what's causing it, but I have to find a solution.'
Rudy burned his plucked nails and turned them into ashes.
He blew the ash in his hands and watched them travel into the sky through the open window.
He caught a glimpse of a fading moon and muttered, "Where are you, Nyxia?"
'I never thought I would miss her this much. But am I missing her because I want to be with her, or because I expect her to find me answers and solutions to all these weird things that are happening to me?'
"Where are you, Nyxia?"
Rudy closed his eyes for a few seconds and tried to track Nyxia. As expected, he couldn't track her or see anything at all. He was enveloped by darkness.
"Did you call me, boy?" a voice asked.
Rudy opened his eyes in shock and surprise as he could never mistake recognizing that voice. It belonged to Nyxia.
However, when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. He was still surrounded by nothing but eternal darkness. It made him wonder if he had actually opened his eyes, but he was sure he had.
He glanced around, but all he saw was the abyss.
He stomped his foot on the ground to feel it, and sure enough, he was standing on the cold marble. And he could feel it.
He moved his hands in front of his face, hoping to see them, but he felt as though he didn't have a body— which wasn't possible as he could feel his feet on the cold marble.
He tried touching his face and body with his hands, and once he confirmed he could feel it, he raised his finger and manifested a yellow flame. It seemed like a flame of a handle, calm yet dangerous to touch.
Rudy let go of the flame and allowed it to travel around so he could see where he was. The flame traveled and illuminated the surrounding, but it could only brighten things that were less than 5 centimeters close.
The yellow flame traveled further, moving around and illuminating the surroundings. Rudy carefully watched what the flame illuminated and drew a map in his mind.
But he found the process tedious, so he created a giant fireball, hoping that would fasten the process. However, the fireball lost its flame as soon as it was created.
He created flames like the last one, but they also went out.
'Man, I hate it when this happens.'
However, Rudy noticed something. The flame got bigger and brighter as it moved forward.
Rudy could now easily guess where he was.
He stood in an enormous chamber with dozens, if not hundreds, of pillars. And the cold he felt on his feet was not marble but ice.
The yellow flame suddenly turned crimson red and scattered in the entire chamber, illuminating multiple areas at once.
However, one flame remained yellow, which kept moving forward and eventually turned blue before vanishing into thin air.
Before it vanished, Rudy saw the last thing it illuminated.
It was a face with blue eyes, blonde hair, and sharp fangs.
It was Nyxia, and she was sitting on the throne in a relaxed position, staring right at Rudy.