Chapter 158: Earthling Quest
In the beginning, Alex thought that this old man was sick.
But as he started talking about demons, Alex realized that the old man was actually sane and pretty knowledgeable.
The old man smiled, “Mental demons. They appear in different forms, heavily connected to people’s experiences. They mostly hail from childhood’s traumas, slowly growing into demons in people’s heads.”
Alex nodded. He had lessons about those cases.
The old man carried on, “Imagine the scenario… A loving family. Mother, father, and the kid. As the mother makes breakfast for her family, she holds the knife and smears the butter on the bread… And then, her kid comes into her view.
She suddenly gets a thought… What if I just shove this knife into my kid’s eyes?” the old man spoke about such a topic with a smile.
Alex sighed, “That’s OCD. It’s proved that people with such thoughts won’t actually yield to their compulsions.”
The old man nodded, “But they will feel guilt. Because of that guilt, their OCD will get worse. They will spend more time on their intrusive thoughts, developing their demon. OCD isn’t just about thoughts… It forces people to do something to prevent possible terrible things from happening. It also doesn’t have to be killing… It can be anything, young man. Those compulsions will drive them mad and eat them.
Those demons will devour their happiness, their life, and their future.
Alex replied after thinking, “There are ways to expose those demons.”
The old man laughed, “People with OCD know that their thoughts and compulsions are too much. It’s different for other demons hailing from depression or paranoia… There are so many kinds of demons. I regret that we are on a random bench! Oh well, I got my reward already.”
Alex looked deeply at the old man, “I believe those demons can be erased. Everyone deserves to be happy in their life.”
“Oh, of course, they can be erased,” the old man nodded a few times before sucking on his cigarette, “But if you erase one demon, another one will appear in someone’s else life… That’s because everyone… Yes, every living being is so fragile… They let themselves get affected by the past or their environment, be it people or their status, giving birth to demons.
Every mental disorder is connected to fear, young man. We all fear something, don’t we? That’s why we are all valuable targets for those demons. You won’t even know when they take a dwelling in your heart… You should be careful… They are everywhere, and they are dangerous. They became even too greedy, you know? It’s not just a fear that they want to consume… They want more… but fear will never stop being their primary target. That’s the core of their existence. They will continuously and greedily push people to their limits for fear and the future.
Their greed is insatiable… for they are hungry demons,” the old man smiled.
Then another man on the bench parted his lips, “Fear stretches its influence toward every land, making them… immortal.”
A silence ensued.
The only wind whistled around these three. Alex periodically heard the old man let out the smoke from his mouth… But other than that, no one didn’t make any sound. It was as if they were thinking about the old man’s talk.
And then, Alex looked at his phone, “It’s pretty late, so I will return. But well, your words sounded pretty good. You should write a book, old man.”
He smiled and turned around, leaving these two.
The brawny man stared at Alex’s back, then sighed.
The old man sneered, “You can’t blame him. It’s all the game. We are… the game. For now, at least.”
“You said you got the reward. What kind of quest have you received?” the man turned his eyes to the old man, asking probingly.
The old man had nothing to hide. He tapped the air, then the game system appeared before his eyes.
Only he and the man could look at that system.
[Earthling Quest
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