Chapter 290: True Fear

The world was too complicated and complex. It made Aegon curious, but also told him that he couldn’t pursue all its mysteries. Some mysteries were better left untouched.

One such mystery was consciousness, which was also basically the soul or spirit. Aegon could delve deeper into this subject because of his affinity and also the measure of control he held in the Spiritual Plane.

Still, he was mostly clueless. All he knew was that the Main Consciousness didn’t really have space or time. Everything was just a representation, an idea of the physical world.

’Or is it the opposite?’

After all, Soul Essence was basically a reflection that the world convinced existed, especially since the Main Consciousness belonged to it, where the idea of Soul Essence originated.

The place where every single living being originated.

’But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the philosophers are also wrong. Well, I’ll just have to see. Like, there are only islands and seas in the Spiritual Plane. But there is so much more in the real world, so what is it a reflection of? What reflects the infinite dimensions of physical reality?’

Instantly, a terrible pain descended upon him, bringing extreme agony as the pressure of the entire Main Consciousness seemed to weigh upon him.

As if the world itself was looking at him.

"Aghh!"

"Aegon!"

He fell on his knees, blood leaking from his nose and eyes. He wanted to curse, but before that, he needed to bear the weight of the entire world’s gaze upon him.

It was impossible.

He was going to die.

Curiosity was going to get him killed.

Damn it! Why couldn’t he just stop thinking about it?

[Calm down, host. As long as I’m here, something like this can’t harm you.]

The next second, the terrible pressure was alleviated greatly. It was still there, but he felt like there was a wall between them. Like a cyclone was devastating everything, and he was hiding in an indestructible house, protected by impenetrable walls.

He gasped for air, finally able to form thoughts properly again. For a moment, he couldn’t hear or see anything. Was it because of the blood? Or the complete loss of awareness?

"Aegon! Aegon! Are you okay?"

"Young Master! I’ll call..."

"Boss!!!"

Finally, clarity returned to him along with his other senses. He staggered back to his feet, two soft hands guiding him upwards as he shook his head and thought, ’I’ll be damned!’

Aegon looked to his side, at the owner of the soft hands, and found Elara’s concerned face. As she noticed his dazed look, she hurriedly checked her storage ring for something, but Aegon just embraced her.

His heart was still pounding rapidly. Fear consumed his entire being even though the danger had passed. He couldn’t feel the pressure anymore, yet he was more scared than he had ever been.

"Little Gon? What happened? Are you alright?" Elara called out. When he didn’t answer, she just raised her hand and began to caress his smooth black hair.

’I was so close to losing it all!’ he thought, blaming himself mentally. ’All because of my damned habit of prying into everything.’

Aegon hadn’t realised it initially, but when he saw Elara’s face, his entire life flashed before him. The past, which was nothing but wonderful, the present, which was as great as it could be, and the future that awaited him.

He had almost ruined it all.

After a few seconds, he separated and looked around, curious why the surroundings were suddenly dark. What he saw were more than fifty towering abominations made of abyss-like shadows, all surrounding him and looking at him.

Before them stood the familiar face of Nora, a stone clutched tightly in her hands.

The tallest shadow kneeled near him and asked, "Boss, what happened? Are you alright?"

"I courted death, nothing much," Aegon said, rubbing his eyebrows. "You all are dismissed. Stop scaring others."

As per his orders, every member of Red Veil dropped back into his shadows, making them deeper and more frightening. Only the three of them remained.

He turned towards Elara and said softly, "I’m sorry. I ruined the start of our date."

"No. It’s perfectly fine. But what happened?" Elara asked, relieved to see him well again.

"You know, there are things you shouldn’t know," Aegon smiled weakly and said. "And you know me. My mind goes from here to there. I probably chanced upon something like that."

That ticked her off. Her concerned and worried face vanished, replaced by pure emotional anger.

"You idiot!" Elara slapped his shoulder and shouted at him. "Why can’t you rest your mind for a moment? It’s not like it’s your first time experiencing something like this, right? You’re so good at..."

He let her rant for a while, which was good for her considering she was really angry this time. But all he saw in her eyes was fear, just like what he had felt a few moments ago.

He hugged her tightly and said, "I’m really sorry about that. It won’t happen again."

"No, it was my fault," Elara mumbled, leaning closer to him. "I shouldn’t have brought up that topic, especially since I know it might trigger your curiosity."

Aegon kissed her head and said, "Just let me take responsibility for my mistakes, El. I won’t do it again."

She hummed in understanding.

He then looked at Nora and said, "Sorry for worrying you too."

"No, it’s fine," Nora said, stashing the stone in her pocket. "Though, you woke up at the right moment. I almost called my father."

Just then, the ground below them shuddered as they all felt a heavy presence beside them. Virginia stood there, looking at Aegon with big draconic eyes and snarled.

She lowered her head to his level, smoke trailing off her nose. He let her inspect him as he could feel her curiosity and a mix of odd emotions.

To their surprise, she nudged him and then dropped her head before him, her eyes closed and relaxed. All of them were stunned.

"She..." Aegon blinked, finding it hard to believe.

"She willingly submitted to you," Nora muttered in disbelief. "She is yours to command, Young Master."