Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 245: Cracks in the Calm

Nobody spoke as Adam and the girls returned from the forest battered and bruised from the ambush. Adam in particular was a little absentminded as he felt himself slowly unraveling.

How could Elise come back? He should have killed her when he had the chance. He had been overconfident and now he and his friends were in danger because of his hubris. He grit his teeth quietly as he had been practically useless.

Lily was holding Moku tight like an emotional support plushie. The little puppy nestled into her arms without complaint, tail limp, ears perked just enough to show he was listening. His warmth was the only comfort she had at the moment.

"I don’t know how she got here but whatever it was, that was not right."

Rachel remarked as she wiped off a bit of cold sweat from her brow. Adam frowned and snapped "Nooooo, Really?! Maybe instead of cutting out her tongue, we should have slit her throat!"

The monkey girl remained unfazed in front of Adam’s anger and gave him a cold look in response.

"Would you really be able to kill your own family member?"

Without a second thought Adam snapped back almost instantly.

"I would do it in a heartbeat!"

Silence. Nobody had expected the unbridled rage Adam had shown in front of them. He was usually more stoic, calm and often the straight man of the group when they were having their chaotic antics.

The silence that followed was heavy. Even the forest, usually alive with distant sounds, seemed to quiet in response to Adam’s outburst.

Lily looked up, eyes wide, Moku squirming slightly in her arms from the sudden tension. She didn’t say anything, but her grip tightened protectively around the puppy.

Rachel studied Adam carefully. Her posture wasn’t tense, but her gaze had sharpened. She wasn’t scared, just... calculating. Reading him.

Luna finally broke the silence. Her voice was soft, but steady.

"You don’t mean that."

Adam turned to her slowly, his expression unreadable.

"You don’t know what she’s done," he said.

"No," Luna replied, meeting his gaze. "But I know you. And I know what saying something like that does to a person. You might hate her, Adam... but if you cross that line, it’ll stay with you. Forever."

"Hehe...HAHAHA" Now you know the meaning behind my name! I was ready for that long before I met any of you!"

Luna saw the madness in his eyes, the unbridled rage of a man who was willing to go as far as destroying himself in the process.

Luna saw the madness in his eyes, the unbridled rage of a man not pushed to the edge, but born at it. There was no betrayal in that look. Just cold, bitter resolve.

This wasn’t about Elise alone. This was deeper. Older.

The others began to see it now too. The cracks in Adam’s usual calm weren’t just from this ambush. They were years in the making.

Rachel leaned forward slightly, arms crossed. Her usual smirk was gone. "How long have you been carrying this?"

Adam didn’t answer right away. His eyes burned, not with heat but with something more volatile.

"Since the day I was old enough to see the darkness within," he said. "From the moment I saw just how rotten my so-called family is down to their very core."

Nobody dared interrupt.

"I am going to kill them all," he said, the words falling from his lips with such certainty it sounded less like a threat and more like a prophecy. "Not because I hate them....Though I won’t deny that I fucking hate them. I will kill them because it’s the right fucking thing to do."

Moku let out a small, unsure whine. Lily pressed her face into his fur, heart aching. She didn’t say anything. Couldn’t.

Adam turned from them and started walking again. Not fast. Not far. But with purpose.

For the first time, none of them followed immediately.

Because for the first time, they weren’t sure if they were following a friend or a storm waiting to happen.

Rachel was the first to move. She didn’t follow him, but she stepped forward and looked off in his direction. Her brows were furrowed in thought, the usual mischief in her eyes gone.

"You all felt that, right?" she asked, voice quieter than normal. "That wasn’t just rage. That was... something else."

"That was the face of a man who is in pain. I should know..." Luna began but was unable to finish the sentence. She who had lost her parents and had almost lost her brother could emphasize with him. If she didn’t have Leo, she probably would have ended up just like him...or worse.

Silence lingered once more as they stood there. Moku gave a small yip and tried to wriggle free. Lily let him go, and the puppy padded forward a few steps before stopping and sitting down, tail curled against his side.

"We can save him," Lily said softly.

Rachel tilted her head. "You sure about that?"

"No," Lily admitted. "But I want to believe it. He’s angry. He’s hurting. But he’s still our Horo. Right?"

Luna didn’t respond at first. Then she turned and started walking after him. "He might be walking toward hell. But I’d rather burn with him than pretend I didn’t see him fall."

Rachel grinned faintly and followed. "Damn. You’re on a roll today."

Lily hesitated for a moment longer. Then, with a deep breath, she scooped Moku back up and joined the others.

And just like that, they followed the storm. Not to stop it. But to walk with it. To remind it what it meant to still be human.

’Adam...’

Arachne’s voice was like droplets of water inside of the raging fire of Adam’s mind. He wanted to ignore it but the tone of her voice made it practically impossible. Plus he couldn’t ignore the fact she had used his real name. She practically never did that.

’What? I know I shouldn’t have snapped at them but....’

’To be honest...I am almost disappointed in you. Your first setback and you start unraveling and snapping at those around you like some rabid dog. You prove your siblings right if you act that way.

Adam winced at the painful truth of Arachne’s words but he didn’t stop walking.

’Well sorry for being such a disappointment...’

’I said ALMOST a disappointment. Luckily for you, while I am a Goddess of Madness and Revenge...I am also a Goddess of Truth. And the truth is that your Lion Cub friend has a good eye and fate when it comes to companions. Look behind you.’

Unsure of what she was rambling about, Adam turned his head back and saw Rachel, Luna and Lily walking towards him as if they were trying to catch up. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Wha-What are you guys doing?" He stuttered with eyes wide, cut completely off guard.

"Why do you gotta walk so fast?" Lily complained with a huff, while Rachel had her characteristic smirk on her face.

"I practically grew up in the underworld. A little murderous intent is like a breath of hot air in my books."

Luna didn’t say anything at first, instead slowly walked up to him.

"L-Luna...I’m S-So–" He didn’t get to finish his apology as Luna grabbed him by his collar and forcing him to lean forward so their eyes became level and they were so close that their noses could practically touch.

"I told you if there was anything bothering you, to tell us! If you are going to burn, we burn together!"

Adam had no words to say as he stared into her crimson eyes as his anger and self hatred faded away.

In that moment, the only thing he could think of was Red had become his new favorite colour.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l