GUARDIAN OF THE END

The surroundings seemed to merge together with Jason's body, making him seem like a part of the night.

'So, what exactly is my fear here?'

[ how am I supposed to know that? ]

'Well, I was just talking to myself. It was you who thought that I was talking with you.' Jason replied with a smile.

He slowly started moving onwards the north in hope of getting some clue as to what he should do.

The further Jason walked, the more confused he got. There was no clear indication about his fear unlike the last time.

'Perhaps this is a set up for the real fear that will show up soon.' Jason wondered silently.

After walking for an hour, he felt tired. However, his eyes had caught the sight of a hut in the distance.

He slowly trudged towards the hut with a careful expression. The hut was likely his next fear to overcome.

Jason finally reached the hut. He out his ear on the door of the structure and heard what was happening inside.

"If you want your children to remain safe, do as we tell you." A male voice said coldly.

"B-But…" A woman sobbing voice replied.

Jason felt his heart beat quickening. This had happened during the war on Earth as well.

Soldiers had taken hold of the innocent, though such incidents had only happened in small scale.

'It doesn't concern me. I don't have to do anything here.' Jason thought, forcing himself to walk away.

He slowly moved away from the hut, a strange pounding sound echoing inside his ears.

"AHHhh!" A scream suddenly came out of the house followed by the sound of something hitting the ground.

The sound was so loud that despite being a few meters away from the house, Jason could hear it.

'Damn it… I can't ignore things if they happen in this manner,' he thought while gritting his teeth.

Jason turned around and ran towards the hut. He was no hero but it was hard to ignore the helpless voice of someone trying to prevent a mishap from happening.

Many people might hate heroes for their over righteousness or sense of justice. Some of those heroes deserved it because most of the time, they were putting up a facade.

[ What do you consider yourself, host? If you aren't a hero, what are you? ]

"A half-demon, of course!" Jason replied without a second thought.

He kicked on the door, making it fall open. Inside, his eyes fixed on three people who stood over the bodies of two women with an emotionless expression.

Their faces seemed to be meddling in with the surroundings, giving them a dead eyed look.

Jason's eye then turn to look. His eyes landed on the bodies of the two women, jolt of shock passing right through his body.

Their face had no organs on it. Plain bland faces stared back at Jason, making him shudder.

"Who are you?" one of the men asked with a cold glare.

"A passerby. I will be on my way again." Jason replied with a charming smile before turning around.

He felt as though he was living in a nightmare that was haunting him after watching a horror film.

"You are just going to leave us here because we have no faces?" one of the woman suddenly said.

Jason couldn't help but wonder where the voice had come from since she didn't have any mouth.

"Even if you don't save us, what about them?" the woman pointed towards the corner of the room.

Jason's gaze landed on a bunch of children huddled up into a corner. Their faces showed terrified expressions yet what hit Jason in the gut was the feeling that he knew all of them.

Their faces currently represented the faces of all those children who he had met throughout his two lives.

If he left them behind at the mercy of the three men, he knew that he won't be able to sleep peacefully in the realm world.

Well, entering the dream world was always an option.

"See, in front of people who you know, you will do your best to save them." One of the women smiled. "Its not because you are righteous or a hero bent on saving the world. Its because if you don't save them, you will feel a guilt in your heart."

Jason's body stiffened. The woman had managed to know his exact thoughts.

"You are not special there. Most people subconsciously or consciously feel the same. You or them are, by no means, a hero. You are just going to save those who you know so that you can sleep easily at night."

Jason wanted to say something but his mouth couldn't form any words. After all, what they had said was correct.

"I…"

"You are nothing, Jason Syrward. Just like the countless people living in the world, you mostly follow the same things. You just got a bit lucky than the others." Both the women threw back their heads and started cackling.

***

At the divine temple…

"So that's the last one of your three big fears. Its quite a unique fear I suppose…"

A goddess smiled while watching the trial unfold in front of her eyes. She could tell that Jason was currently in a state where it was impossible for him to counter the two women.

"It has been many, many, many years since I saw someone with a fear like that. Daedalus, the genius Greek scientist, shares the same fear as you. Few people, who are not remembered as heroes or justice fighters, share the same fear as you.

Perhaps if I was a mortal, I would know why you fear such things but I am afraid that I can't understand all of your feelings," The goddess muttered to herself.

"However, there is one thing that I can." The goddess snapped her fingers, sending some energy into the golden ring lying inside Jason's soul.

***

Inside Jason's body, the divinity of the goddess, slowly began to glow…