Ashton's eyes narrowed, despair etched on his face. He asked with a trembling voice.
"What did you just do?"
The alien stared back at him before an inhumane voice resounded through the place, sending a chill down his spine.
"You felt it, didn't you? Your power isn't unique."
Ashton's face turned ugly; it looked like his guess was correct and there was no way he could defeat him now.
He'd barely been holding on before… and now? There was no way he could defend himself. Worse, an alien spaceship was rapidly closing in—who knew what horrors waited inside?
His mind raced, thinking about what to do. Running wouldn't save him but standing still wouldn't either.
So Ashton turned around and sprinted away, getting away from the alien and the approaching alien spaceship.
As he ran away, the alien's inhumane voice echoed once again, grabbing his attention.
"It's futile… the way things are now you will die unless…"
Ashton ignored their words and kept running, moving as fast as his body allowed.
However, as he ran, chilly wind slammed onto his back, making him frown as he started to shiver.
Ashton turned around, his eyes narrowed as he mumbled.
"What is that…?"
A mist as white as snow had engulfed the area where the alien was standing and it was expanding at an incredible speed, swallowing anything that stood in its path.
Ashton swallowed nervously as he hastened his steps as he didn't want to be swallowed up by the mist.
Although it looked harmless, it felt ominous and the alien was nowhere to be seen. So it was best if he didn't make any contact with it just to be safe.
However, in the end, he failed to outrun the expanding mist. It got up to him, completely engulfing him, and the world around him changed drastically.
The fog expanded so quickly that he couldn't see its end no matter how far he looked.
Realizing running was of no use, he stopped running and stood still as he tilted his head staring at the sky.
There was nothing but fog in the sky. There was no alien spaceship, debris, or even light in sight.
Ashton's eyes darted around, examining his surroundings. At his right, left, front, and behind, there was nothing but fog.
The only exception was the ground; he could see its texture clearly, and a piece of his pants stained with blood rested near his feet.
He raised his head, staring in front of him as his mind raced thinking of what to do next.
A moment later, he mumbled with a long sigh.
"There is only one thing I can do…"
He walked straight ahead, footsteps steady, every sense straining for a sound, a movement, anything that would reveal the alien.
***
Ashton shivered as he inhaled the freezing cold air, every breath of the freezing air slicing into his lungs until even breathing felt like punishment.
Despite everything, he kept moving. He had been walking for who knew how long, chasing the hope of reaching the fog's end. At some point, he had lost all sense of time.
Yet the fog never thinned. Instead, it felt as though he was trapped in an endless loop, running in circles with no end.
He gritted his teeth, continuing to walk. Suddenly his gaze landed on something on the ground near his feet.
He took a closer look and froze. His eyes widened in disbelief and he became pale as he uttered a single sentence.
"This… is impossible…"
It was the same piece of cloth he had seen at the beginning. Did that mean he ended up back where he started?
That made no sense; he clearly remembered walking straight ahead without ever changing his path.
Realizing something was wrong, he stood up in a hurry and walked in a different direction, but after a while, he saw the same piece of cloth.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as fear etched in his heart. He quickly stood up and went in another direction.
But no matter which direction he went or how many times he tried. Somehow, he ended up back in the same place that he started.
Panic crept in as the truth settled that this place wasn't meant to be escaped from.
Exhausted, cold, and with no idea what to do, he collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.
As cold and exhaustion gnawed at him, the alien, hidden until now, finally stepped into view. The alien's ice gaze locked onto him as they walked towards him.
Seeing this, Ashton gritted his teeth, tightened his grip around his sword, and roared.
"Stay back… Don't get close…"
The alien heeded his warning, they stopped making him frown as he mumbled.
"What are they up to?"
As the alien stood still, fog charged towards him like a hurt beast, it surrounded him, forcefully entering his body through his nose, ears, and eyes moments later.
Ashton let out terrifying groans of pain. As he did, the alien's hateful voice echoed through his ears.
"As I said there is no way to escape"
A few seconds later, the alien suddenly fell to the ground, gasping for air. Ashton saw the fog clearing up and a shadow of a figure rushed towards him.
But his vision kept darkening.
Before he blacked out, Ashton felt a hand grip his arm warm and humane.
***
Sometime later on the battlefield.
Voric was calmly staring in the direction where Ashton was. Voric's face was devoid of any emotion making it difficult to guess what he was thinking.
Just then, 4 aliens descended from an alien spaceship, swarming around him. Voric shot a glance at them and asked.
"What?"
One of the aliens said.
"I have sensed an incredible amount of mana being emitted from here. Where did it come from?"
Voric flatly replied.
"It belonged to a human who had become an Awakened."
Hearing this, the alien's face darkened as one of them asked.
"Have you killed him Voric?"
He paused, thinking deeply, and added.
"I have…"
"Good, I knew we could rely on you."
They turned around, heading towards the spaceship. One of them turned around and said,
"Come, we have other missions to complete"
Voric nodded and replied.
"I am coming."
Voric replied as a sinister smile crept beneath the helmet. He knew someone had just saved that human.
So he had effectively lied to them.
But why had he lied?
When the human touched the Absolute Weapon, Voric felt it a mark so rare it made his pulse quicken.
He couldn't afford to let someone like that die.
So he needed them alive… not out of mercy but to achieve his ultimate goal.
"Hopefully, I am not wrong about you. Don't disappoint me… Ashton"