Chapter 36: Suitable

"Everyone suffers at least one bad betrayal in their lifetime. It's what unites us. The trick is not to let it destroy your trust in others when that happens. Don't let them take that from you." —Sherrilyn Kenyon, Invincible (Chronicles of Nick, #2)

"When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream forever." —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

"Men are never convinced of your reasons, of your sincerity, of the seriousness of your sufferings, except by your death. So long as you are alive, your case is doubtful; you have a right only to their skepticism." —Albert Camus, The Fall

***

About five minutes later, after going through an immense and intense surge of pain, thus experiencing far gruesome suffering, Astolf weakly gathered himself up. Staggering on each foot as he proceeded to walk towards both Grenoble and Baron, Astolf felt a tingling sensation on his nape, then his blood was concentrated down below where it should not be because it was not the time to be having a hard-on.

"It seems that for the "gift" to fully function one must have a boner. Then, I am guessing it would be different when a woman partakes in such a manly matter."

It didn't take long for Astolf's boner to subside. And his staggering was immediately cleared off. Now, he felt extremely powerful, like an uplifting urge to destroy everything in sight was telling him to do so.

Despite the strange monotonous voice persuading him to attack both Grenoble and Baron with his now-acquired "gift", Astolf suppressed the desire to harm people he knows.

Trembling from the explosive desire to harm others, his hand subconsciously reached for the tree, wherein the tip of his finger slightly touched the bark, and the life the tree once possessed instantly decayed into nothingness but ashes.

Both Grenoble and Baron were in awe, astounded at the newly acquired gift by Astolf. In their eyes, Astolf's gift possessed great potential.

They exchanged glances and lightly shook their heads off as if agreeing to something they both had in mind.

"You've found yourself a reliable and truly powerful gift, Astolf. I suggest you start controlling your gift or you might face the repercussions of owning a gift from our god."

Hearing such an uplifting compliment from Grenoble put Astolf's mind at ease. However, Grenoble's compliment alone was not enough to clear and free Astolf's mind of the voices inside. Although monotonous and repetitive, these voices inside his head drill through his skull like a damn awl.

"But how should I deal with the voices inside my head? They— no, he is telling me to kill myself right now! And I could recall his life, all of his sufferings up to when I slit his throat and stab his stomach!"

Like a sick madman, clutching his head, trying to erase all of the negative yet persuasive thoughts in his mind, Astolf ultimately gave up on the voice inside his head. His body collapsed and the unspeakable began to transpire right before their eyes.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! His body is decaying!"

Baron began to panic upon seeing Astolf's body slowly wither when he was so healthy just several seconds ago.

"His body and his mind rejected the gift. Just when he was gonna get started, Astolf suddenly gave in to what the voice inside his head wanted. Therefore, forfeiting such a great life ahead of him. He would have made a name for himself in the next few years. His "gift" is one that destroys."

Grenoble would not let such a powerful gift go to waste. Seeing the opportunity slowly fading away in front of his eyes, Grenoble pulled out a knife and smoothly sliced through Astolf's leg.

"I command you, Baron, to receive the gift to turn every life form to ashes. With a single touch of your hand, all that is breathing shall perish."

An oath and a command were both created at the same time. While Baron was on his right knee with his head bowed and ready to accept Astolf's flesh and the gift it has, Grenoble then made Baron swallow and chew on the slice of leg meat.

Upon swallowing the flesh, the aftereffect of reconstructing his body and mind with the gift, for his whole to be accustomed to wielding an atrocious gift, put Baron on the ground. He was rolling in pain, curled up, and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"And since you have consumed Astolf's flesh to acquire the gift that was once possessed by a troubled Balmackian, you must now shoulder the burden. Every single day, you will wake up to their voices inside your head. Every minute, every hour, every second, for the rest of your life. But it is just a small price to pay compared to how much this "gift" will greatly affect your life from now on."

Similar to how Astolf dealt with the aftereffect of the gift, Baron stood up just fine for not too long. He was much more capable than the previous vessel and his body was telling him that the gift and him was a perfect match.

"How do you feel?" Grenoble asked, even though Baron's face says it all. "I guess that was a dumb thing to ask. You clearly look better than before."

"Although there are no signs of changes in my physical appearance, I can definitely say that I've improved a lot. The effects might be mental."

"You can't be too complacent about your gift, Baron. Remember that you haven't fully mastered it, so if you accidentally touch someone and activate your gift, you might hurt someone."

Baron knew and was aware of it. However, with one display of his knowledge about his gift, even though he has never once done it before, Baron freely puts an end to several plants' lives. They all turned to ashes at his will and those he wished not to wither did not die.

A round of applause was given by Grenoble. An outstanding display of great control was done by Baron. He was worthy of being praised after all, so receiving a round of applause was to be expected.

However, if Baron often receives compliments and words of affirmation from Grenoble, his ego and pride might grow. He would start becoming more and more arrogant and bragging about his ability to trample other lives with such ease.

"If that time comes, I can only blame myself for being so kind to him. Before that happens, I must break whatever horn his head will grow."

~