Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Screaming Mist

Chapter 420 – Screaming Mist

Kaden and Rea watched intensely at the Frosted Bridge. They were standing at the top of the last mountain they conquered. Surprisingly, it was the first mountain.

And even more surprising was the fact that the sight of the bridge tore open reality and appeared in front of them out of nowhere.

It was as if the bridge had always been there, just unable to be seen until one went through all the eight mountains.

It was a curious thing, Kaden noticed.

And the gnawing sensation of missing something very important about these Eight Mountains just refused to disappear. Kaden didn’t like the feeling.

He sighed internally, planning something inwardly while examining the bridge.

The Frosted Bridge was floating in the air, with nothing holding it. Underneath it, there was nothing but a bottomless pit of moving darkness that sent a chill through the spine of both Kaden and Rea.

The bridge could not be seen. At least, not totally. Only the outline of it. It was hidden by the moaning, hissing, spiraling mist that opened a small door-like passage.

It was inviting both Kaden and Rea to enter and walk the bridge. It was almost considerate of it.

"We were going to enter anyway," Kaden said, frowning subtly, "but now I don’t feel like doing it with how eager this mist seems to be."

"It’s creepy," Rea muttered, "but you said it yourself, we do not have any other choice."

"You don’t seem to be afraid, Rea."

"I live constantly with fear clinging to me like a child clinging to its mother." Rea replied, sparing him a glance, "And you come to get used to something you always experience. You know that, don’t you?"

"Let’s say that." Kaden replied simply.

"And besides," Rea continued, "why are you talking as if you are afraid?"

She shot him a glare, her eyes glowing for a brief instant,

"You do not fear this mist."

Kaden finally smiled, "True. But not fearing it doesn’t mean I am eager to enter inside. I just don’t feel like it, you see."

"What are you? A child?"

"Technically, yes. I am only 17."

"Do you always have something to say?"

"I mean, you asked a question, didn’t you?"

Rea answered with silence, knowing Kaden would not stop until she did.

Kaden chuckled, then popped his head left and right, causing audible cracking noises to boom.

Next, he shifted his attention to the mountains around him. His brow furrowed, his eyes holding a pondering expression.

"Let’s go, Kaden." Rea nudged him with her elbow, then strode forward, clanking noises of her rings ringing sharply around.

Kaden subtly nodded.

He raised his hand, pointing his finger downward. A thread of blood, as thin as a string, sipped down from it, penetrating deep into the mountain below.

Next, Kaden took out from his storage ring the corpse of the sense-taste monster he encountered in the fifth mountain.

It was an elongated, forked tongue with mouths filled with sharp teeth on it. The mouth also had a tongue, and the tongue another mouth, and so on.

Kaden let the corpse go, making it fall on the spot where his blood entered the mountain. Next, he whispered one last word before striding away, catching up to Rea.

"Arise."

The monster’s body jerked, its previous red skin shifting into pure dark crimson.

It opened its multiple mouths wide, seeming to smile broadly.

The sight was horrific.

Next, it disappeared, following the thread of blood from its now new master.

...

Kaden and Rea stood at the entrance of the mist. They turned their heads, staring at each other, none saying anything.

Rea closed her eyes, exhaling. There was one thing she had learned during their passage through the eight mountains.

And that was an application of her power she never actually thought of.

It was simply to use her master-skill that involved creating new fear on other people on herself.

And with her power that made her stronger the more fear she felt, Rea was practically able to constantly enhance herself.

Her only limit was her Will. After all, there was a limit on the number or intensity of fear she could feel without breaking; being paralyzed and unable to do anything.

Still, that limit was very high, considering her past of wrestling power against a goddess.

Due to that, Rea was able to inject herself with four new terrifying fears.

Her power increased dramatically, so much that Kaden himself gave her a glance, inwardly surprised by the waves of power spilling out of her.

The power of Rea at that time was almost equal to his own when he was Master ranked. And that meant a lot.

"If you are ready," Kaden said, focusing back in front of him, "then let’s enter."

He took a deep breath, feeling the distant cry of something. He frowned, cursed, then took one step and entered the door-like mist.

Rea followed closely behind, a wave of power shrouding her from all sides like a cloak.

Inside her mind, Einar encouraged her, her voice slightly tense.

And so, the mist swallowed the two.

Once inside, Kaden and Rea felt the mist closing around them on all sides, clinging to them like sweat on skin.

They looked around, seeing nothing except the mist itself. But what they didn’t see, they could hear and feel.

The two began to understand why the eight mountains were needed.

Wordlessly, they ventured deeper—or so they thought—into the mist, sensing the hard and cold ground of the bridge.

The two fiancé didn’t know how much time they had walked, but nothing changed in their scenery.

But the more they did, the more they were able to make sense of what their perception was feeding them. Then, at some point in time, they began to grasp something coming from the mist around them.

It was not a voice per se. It was thoughts. In other words, Kaden and Rea began to randomly have thoughts injected inside their minds.

It was eerie and made them pause.

The thoughts were strangely weird. They were filled with shouts, cries, and overlapping voices that wanted to say something but failed because of the other voices.

Kaden’s Will was strong and special, so he was not perturbed by all of those. And the more he listened, the more he felt like he was close to something.

So instead, Kaden allowed those thoughts to run freely inside of him, knowing well they could not harm him. Or at least, it would be difficult for them to do so.

Rea’s situation was similar yet unique. Thanks to her enhancement, she took care of those probing thoughts without much trouble.

Her eyes were closed, her mind in deep focus as she tried to feel something only she could feel.

"Are you hearing them?" Kaden asked in a hushed tone, interrupting briskly Rea’s focus, feeling the mist desperately trying to enter his body and hug him.

"I did." Rea said, voice slightly irritated, "but I probably heard it differently than you. Because of my power, I can feel the fear and sorrow emanating from those thoughts. It’s stunning how the fears are so different yet somehow unique in some inexplicable manner."

Rea tilted her head, causing the mist to churn viciously with her action,

"And I think I am at the verge of knowing that uniqueness of their fear. Once I do, I believe we will scatter away this mist by acting on it."

At her words, the mist, as if understanding, shrieked audibly, causing a small storm to pick up, slamming onto Rea.

She blocked it, clicking her tongue.

"A magnificent plan," Kaden finally said, strangely unaffected by the attack, "but I don’t think we need to go that far."

He lifted his hand, passing it through the mist, as if moving and dancing with them.

Kaden closed his eyes, forcing himself to tune down all the senses he knew. He felt like it was the right choice. As if he was not supposed to feel this mist with his usual senses...

...but with something else.

So he did, and guided by the mist, Kaden finally began to understand why he had that familiar feeling regarding this mist.

A smile crept onto his face.

"Now this is surprising." He whispered.

"Surprising? What is that?" Rea asked.

Kaden answered with silence. He now knew why he felt like he was poking at a living thing when he was using his perception on the mist.

He also now knew why that one time he heard a cute giggle from it.

But more than all of that, Kaden managed to understand why he was feeling slightly repulsive towards the mist.

It was all so obvious.

And with that understanding came the words Nocthar had told him about something under the bridge.

All of these clues, coupled with the small tingling of his new sense, gathered together and formed one single hypothesis.

"You are right, Rea," Kaden said.

Simultaneously, he felt something inside of him stir awake as if finally sensing it was its time.

"This mist feels fear. This mist is alive." He continued, his heart speeding up in sudden excitement, "and it’s all because this mist..."

Kaden paused, and Rea stopped breathing instinctively,

"...this mist is a cluster of screaming souls, Rea."

Instantly, Kaden felt a beloved Trait of his shiver.

[Soulbrand is stirring up.]

Kaden smiled broadly, as Rea’s eyes shot up wide, looking around with more intensity.

"Souls?"

[Soulbrand is reacting.]

[Soulbrand is reacting.]

[Soulbrand is—!]

DING!!!!

The Will chimed.

[You have discovered the Dungeon: Dwelling of Souls.]

The whole Frosted Bridge began to glow with a bright light, before slowly sinking down towards the bottomless pit of Darkness.

[Dungeon Danger: Epithet~Elderling.]

Kaden laughed as he felt himself fall, while Rea was too afraid to even speak. Well, she did manage to speak, and it was:

"Damn Kaden!"

—End of Chapter 420—