The Cheat Seed

"... I died... I... I died!!"

The boy's words were trembling as they met Marcus's ears.

Marcus was 5 meters away from the weeping boy, who was convincingly his younger self.

Marcus was pretty sure that he could not hear anything, anything at all!! besides the ringing cries of the boy which echoed deep inside his eardrums.

Oddly, he was not able to take his eyes off the weeping boy and focus on his inner demon, who seemed to float above him, shouting something at him.

But all the connotations and shouts from the Demon did not reach Marcus as it got inundated under the volume from the cries of his younger, whimpering self.

He felt that his demon was telling him something very serious. His intuition never lied to him, but as it was now, he couldn't move the way he wanted, instead, he could only keep his eyes straight towards the weeping boy and move forwards.

'Maybe it was the programming of the hidden file'

He thought.

It was true. Once the hidden files start playing themselves in front of the user's vision, nothing from the outside could reach him, even if it were sound, actions, or anything. It wouldn't find his attention until or unless the memory reel he was viewing would finish itself.

That meant... Whatever his demon had said to him was in vain.

.............

Marcus was strangely pulled towards the boy. His sobs increased as Marcus stepped closer to him.

"I'll die... That's a monster!!"

The boy sobbed. His head was low, sunk deep into his knees.

Marcus zeroed his distance with the boy. There was no other way he could go. Even his eyes were still, he couldn't even blink for a second, it wasn't like he didn't want to, but he simply could not blink them. Or simply, the system files didn't let him.

Marcus put his hand out forward, he wanted to console the boy from his fear... from his fear of dying. Marcus's hand slowly found the boy's head and in an involuntary effort, caressed his hair.

It was strange!!. Even though it was all supposed to be happening inside his forbidden memories, he could still feel the boy as if he existed in reality.

*Shock*

A wave of electricity, the one which carried tormenting pain boomed through his hand as Marcus went still just as he brushed the boy's hair.

"Did I just die?..."

"No, but I am alive"

"But... the monster... he just ripped my head off"

"I can't... I just can't do this..."

"I cannot die"

Marcus's sixteen year old voice echoed inside his intellect as he heard them one by one. His younger self's agonizing and ominous voice doused off the excruciating pain which dabbled on his hand.

Marcus was yet again in a completely different place. It was as if he had jumped another scene, but this time it was a bit different.

It was as if he was floating, not in the air, but water. Marcus's vision was dizzy, he felt as if he was sinking deep into a bottomless ocean.

It was murky, to that very extent that he couldn't see anything besides the bubbling murkiness all around him.

But the small screen before him was as clear as the day to him.

Everything the boy said and his bloodshot eyes gaped at Marcus through the screen. Those bloodshot eyes glared at him, subconsciously asking him questions that he had repeated himself.

"Why did you think ending your life was the right option?"

"Now look at this mess I am in... No!. YOU ARE IN!"

The slides on the screen changed. It went black for a second before appearing yet again before his perception frame.

"And you were going to suicide? Talk about pathetic Kekekek..."

His Inner Demon's voice found his ears. The glaring eyes of the demon along with his obsidian smile met his gaze.

"Do you think dying is easy?..."

The demon said.

"Are you underestimating the aspect called Death??"

"HOHOH, Marcus... The reason you tried to end your life was that you didn't fear DEATH!."

"And the one thing you must fear, the one thing you should fear every second in your life is unquestionably... death!! Kekekek"

"Fear Marcus!!... Be scared of death. That fear will drive you to achieve the ultimate strength!!"

"Remember what the old geezer said?... use your emotions Marcus... turn them into your power!!"

"And if you ask me what emotion will drive you to the ultimate power, then I'll be crystal clear to you...

"It should be obvious to you but for almost 6000 dungeon years... Kekekek.. you've just been dying"

"So use that fear you have towards death and revamp it into your power. The power that'll destroy everything in your way, no matter what it is."

*Blank*

The screen went static as it lost its signal. Currently, it was just the murkiness all over again. But thankfully the demon's word seemed to have its impact on the handsome man.

"Fear... I have to fear death"

Marcus muttered to himself as he closed his eyes, making his vision dull to itself as he sunk into the bottomless liquid.

"So that's why he was weeping... that's why I was weeping..."

Marcus thought to himself.

"I was wrong... I was wrong to end my life..."

"I understand your pain, young me... I now know how frightening death can be"

"I'm sorry... for not seeing this before... and thank you... for going through this for me"

*FLASH*

Just as Marcus realized how tormenting it was for him to endure the entity called death, which was impartial to all, the murky feeling and his lightheadedness succumbed to a clear and perfect vision.

"Aiii Marcus!! You are back?... Good job!!"

The inner demon's voice greeted Marcus as he blinked his eyes to meet his obsidian smile.

"Demon?... Show me the next one"

Marcus's voice held up confidence as he spoke to the demon.

"Hm? Aren't you a bit too confident to talk back to me like this?"

The demon chuckled as he raised his hand, he was going in for another slap.

*Thud*

Marcus's eyes seemed to tow ferocity in them as he stopped the Demon's slap with his right hand.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore... Because I have something else I'm scared of."

Marcus grinned, but his eyes seemed to drill literal holes on the obsidian body of his demon because they were vicious.

"You could've blown me away with your power... but because you took control of the system, which could at the very maximum, deal me moderate physical damage, you were easy to stop"

Marcus spoke, looking deep into his demon's gaze.

"Haha... Good, Very Good!!!... On your oath to maturity... Kekekek. Finally!!!"

The demon chuckled, pulling his hand back from Marcus's grasp.

"Oh look here... Guess one of the chains let you go..."

The demon perched his eyebrows at Marcus.

Marcus himself stared down his torso. The demon was right. One of the chains refraining him from his upper torso motion had completely vanished, without a trace!!.

And that was also the reason he was able to pull his right hand out from the death hold to thwart the demon's umpteenth slap.

Marcus tried to pull his other hand from the hold, but it was just as impossible as it was in the beginning.

Maybe it wasn't as easy it seemed.

"So it lets me free, once I clear all of them"

Marcus said to his demon.

"Yes!!"

The demon replied cheerfully.

"So there's 2 more?"

"Maybe... Maybe not"

The demon replied to Marcus's question with a shrug.

Marcus rotated his right hand, he cracked the joint, as if relocating the shoulder again, which found him relief.

"Ah... I'll find it out anyway... Just take me to the next one..."

"Sure thing... But did you listen to what I said before?"

The demon asked.

"Eh?... So you were saying something?... Nah I didn't hear anything at all... Why?"

Marcus replied.

"Oops... Its Nothing"

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Author Note.

Don't tear at me on the comments for this lol, please!!!!. Don't worry he'll soon realize about him, but I said that in the last chapter because I wanted to clear his power out for you guys.

And I am sorry for these chapters because they are a bit leaning on the conversation side. But this is the only way I can clear things out. So yeah I hope you understand.

Thank you. Be safe.

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