The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Voidspawns
Marcus took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before continuing. “So yeah, I got impaled. Everything went dark, and for a moment, I thought that was it. But then… I woke up. Except, I wasn’t here anymore.”

He looked at his hands as if recalling the sensation. “It felt like I was floating in an empty void—no light, no sound, just nothingness.”

“Then, out of nowhere, a glowing red orb appeared and crashed into me, sending me to an illusion world that looked identical to ours.”

Marcus continued, explaining to the point of his training and his awakening.

The team intently listened as he continued narrating, until he got to the point where he met his master.

“…He said I was supposed to stand as your shield.” Marcus turned to Reid, his expression unreadable. “I don’t know the reason, but he said the fate of this world—and the one below—depends on you.”

“I suspect that’s why the skill reacted when I grabbed your hand.” He finished.

“A world below?” Reid muttered.

Malrath had also mentioned something about a world below, but what did that have to do with him.

Forget having a major role to play in this world and an unknown one, he barely had any goals to getting stronger.

‘Evo, you wouldn’t happen to have any idea what the world below is and what role I have to play in both, would you?’ Reid asked.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think that him ‘conveniently’ discovering Evo back in the Scrapyard was a mere coincidence.

[I’m sorry,] Evo apologized [but there’s no information about the world below in my database.]

‘I see.’ Reid gave a subtle nod, masking his disappointment at the lack of answers..

Lisa frowned. “Hold on. You’re telling me that some mysterious entity gave you an ability related to Reid and now he’s expected to play a major role in this world and an unknown one?”

Marcus nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I don’t get it either, but my master was clear—Reid is the key to something bigger.”

“No pressure, right?” Clara let out sarcastically.

Reid could only run a hand through his hair and let out a sigh before saying “let’s deal with the problems one at a time.”

Playing a major part in two worlds would come later, right now they had a mission to wrap up.

Owen, who was focused on his soup was intently listening to the conversation but decided to not say anything.

He knew there was more to Reid than he let on and that feeling got strong the longer he stayed around the kid.

“I was able to get some information from the creature Marcus and I fought,” Clara said, shifting the topic.

This drew the attention of the others, even Reid’s since Evo hadn’t been able to give any information on what those things were.

“They call themselves Voidspawns,” she started. “They’re a hybrid created from Abyssal Slime Primals and Nightmare Leeches.”

Its form suddenly made more sense. Abyssal Slime Primals were notorious for their insatiable hunger, absorbing everything in sight like a gluttonous entity, breaking down both organic and inorganic matter with terrifying efficiency.

Meanwhile, Nightmare Leeches were infamous for their ability to hijack an individual’s brain, burrowing into their nervous system and granting full control to the parasite.

The fusion of these two creatures resulted in something far more sinister, a being that not only consumed its prey but also became them.

“What about why they’re here?” Lisa asked “did you find anything about that?”

Clara shook her head, “it wouldn’t say. It also refused to say anything about a certain father they kept mentioning.”

“I see” Lisa nodded in disappointment.

The silence returned again but this time, Reid was the one who broke it.

“They were here for me” he said “the teleportation was a trap laid out to separate you guys from me.”

“What do you mean?” Owen asked, he had lost the sleepy looking in his eyes, instead it were replaced by frown.

“The creatures… the Voidspawns I faced said it themselves,” Reid stated. “This was a trap, one designed to separate me from all of you so that one of them could take over my body.”

“Remind me to speak with command after we get back,” Owen muttered before falling silent. He placed his unfinished bowl of soup on the ground and stood up.

“Excuse me,” he said, rolling his shoulders. “I need to stretch a little, so I’ll be hunting some Primals tonight.”

With that he disappeared into the forest, leaving the others sitting by the camp fire, with their soup bowls in hand.

“Is something wrong?” Clara asked seeing Owen’s sudden change in mood.

The others shrugged, having no idea what the cause of his mood change was. Well, except Ethan who suddenly spoke up.

“I did some digging into him and I think I know why he’s mad”

That got the attention of the others.

________

While the others discussed him, Owen was running through the forest, taking down any primal he came across.

His ghost-like Primal ran beside him as they cleared the forest.

He wasn’t sure why Reid’s mention of a trap had suddenly triggered a memory of his brother, but he had an unsettling feeling in his gut.

Something about this mission felt off.

The primals had attacked just minutes after they landed, as if they had been waiting for them. That meant the creatures had anticipated their arrival.

And worse, those creatures had known Reid would be part of this mission.

Everything about this felt wrong..

Roar!!

A loud roar broke him from his thoughts, causing him to stop. From the sound, he knew the primal that let out the roar wasn’t far.

“Seems like someone is volunteering to be my punching bag” Owen said “well then, let’s not keep it waiting.”

He and his Forged-Beast immediately sprinted toward the source of the roar.

Whatever was making that noise was about to become the unfortunate recipient of some seriously misplaced aggression tonight.