Chapter 173: Crippled
He paused for a brief moment before finishing.
"If you fear death that much then live forever as A Coward."
Asher looked at the dragon and replied in a calm tone.
"I would have gladly lived like that, but who knows what might happen? One day, someone could assassinate one of my vessels. Maybe I’d get caught in a Bus accident, or perhaps I’d wake up on an experiment table. Who knows? No matter how carefully I hide, there will always be a possibility that something beyond my control happens. Even if that possibility is small, I would still have to live in constant fear. So that isn’t really an option either."
The dragon looked at him for a moment before replying, "You are simply being paranoid. What are the chances that any of that would actually happen to you?"
A faint smile appeared on Asher’s face.
"That’s what everyone says whenever they hear about an accident or a crime. They convince themselves that it only happens to other people and continue living in ignorance because the odds seem insignificant. But the moment they become the victim themselves, they realize those odds were never zero in the first place."
The dragon looked at Asher for a long moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Just do whatever you want just don’t cause trouble here".
He slowly closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.
"You are simply a fool."
Asher didn’t argue. Instead, he asked another question.
"If someone’s mastery over the Space element becomes high enough, can they travel to other dimensions... or even other worlds?"
The dragon looked at him before answering.
"No. You can never leave this world."
His deep voice echoed throughout the cavern.
"The world itself won’t allow it. You may master the Space element and manipulate it however you wish, but space is more than just an element."
He paused briefly.
"It is also a fundamental law that governs everything, just like time."
The dragon’s gaze then shifted toward the black fog surrounding Asher.
"And then there is death."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"No one can escape those laws. They are the wills that influence every existence within this world. Every living being, every spirit, and every creature is bound by them."
After a brief silence, he added,
"Well... unless you become an existence standing on the same level as those laws themselves."
Asher looked at the dragon before saying,
"That’s not good. The whole reason I mastered the Space element was so that one day, if I became strong enough, I could explore other worlds and dimensions."
The dragon let out a low laugh.
"Yeah... keep dreaming."
His laughter soon faded as his gaze fell upon the black fog surrounding Asher.
"But even now, there is one thing I still don’t understand."
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"How did you escape death? And now you’re even bringing its power into this world. The world itself should reject something like that. There is no place for it here, in the world of the living."
The moment those words left the dragon’s mouth, every one of Asher’s vessels looked at him with confused expressions.
One of the vessels immediately shook his head.
"What do you mean?"
He frowned.
"I’m neither generating it nor controlling it. I’m only manipulating it."
His expression became more serious.
"And why would you even think I’d willingly use something like this? I’m only relying on it because I have no other choice. Without it, killing opponents stronger than me would be almost impossible."
He glanced at the black fog surrounding his body before continuing.
"If anything, I’d be happier if this thing had never existed in the first place."
A faint sigh escaped him.
"At least then... I could have enjoyed life a little more."
The dragon’s expression became even more confused.
He looked at Asher before asking in a puzzled tone,
"What do you mean by that? Aren’t you using it to gain more strength?"
Asher’s vessel shook his head.
"You’re misunderstanding something."
He looked directly at the dragon.
"I’m not generating it, nor do I want it to remain inside me. Who would willingly keep something like this in their own body when it’s constantly trying to kill them?"
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Didn’t you just say that death is a law that applies to everyone? It still does."
His gaze drifted toward the black fog surrounding his body.
"Even after I escaped that place, it never stopped pursuing me. It’s connected to my entire will and is constantly trying to erode it."
He then looked back at the dragon.
"Do you know why my will can’t influence anything outside my own body?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued,
"Because the moment I project my will outward, this thing follows it. It would spread along with my will and begin eroding my that weak will till it vanish"
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"That’s why I keep my will confined to myself. Every second of every day, most of it is spent resisting this thing, preventing it from consuming me."
He glanced at the black fog once more.
"I’ve grown used to the feeling of it over the years, but that doesn’t make it any less real. It’s always there, constantly wearing away at me."
His voice became quieter.
"And the longer it remains... the more it slowly erodes my will to live."
Asher gave a faint, self-deprecating smile.
"And it’s becoming stronger day by day. I’m probably the perfect example of someone with one leg already inside the coffin."
He glanced at the black fog surrounding his body before continuing,
"The only reason I learned to manipulate it was because I had no other choice. Since I can’t infuse my own will into my attacks like other cultivators, I use this instead. Rather than damaging my enemies with my will, I simply let this thing erase theirs."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"It’s not a power I ever wanted... it’s simply the only weapon I have."