The Scrap Tamer - Chapter 143

Chapter 143: The Watcher
While his body lay unconscious in the cave, Reid’s consciousness drifted through an endless void of darkness.

He looked around, noting that there was no light or sound, only an overwhelming emptiness stretching infinitely in every direction. It was neither cold nor warm, neither suffocating nor freeing—it simply was.

‘Is this death?’

The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

‘No, this didn’t feel like the end. There was something… waiting.’

And soon enough, he felt a ripple in the void before two massive eyes opened in it, staring directly at him.

Reid froze.

Whatever was staring at him caused Reid to shiver in terror. His instincts warned him to run, but there was no where to.

“Hello Reid,” the beings voice came “I’ve been expecting you.”

Its voice was as terrifying as its form causing Reid to tremble more, his mind couldn’t fully comprehend what he was looking or listening to.

He was on the verge of losing his sanity when a snap resounded in the void. As soon as that happened, the darkness of the void immediately shattered, replaced by a field of trimmed grass.

Reid found himself sitting on the grass, a small table before him and a teacup in his hand.

“Better?” A voice caused him to raise his head, noticing another figure sitting on the opposite side of the table.

It appeared as a man, or at least something resembling one. Its body was covered in a flowing black robe, speckled with tiny glimmers of light, like a piece of the night sky itself.

Its face was smooth, featureless except for those same unsettling eyes, now far smaller but no less terrifying.

Reid tried his hardest to suppress his lingering fear by calming his breath. Its new form was a lot easier for his mind to accept than a massive Eldritch void being.

“You’re handling this better than I expected,” it remarked, casually taking a sip from its own teacup, despite having no visible mouth “the tea should help with your nerves.”

Reid tightened his grip on the cup in his hands, the porcelain warm against his skin. He hadn’t even noticed himself lifting it.

“…Who—” His voice came out hoarse, and he swallowed before trying again. “Who are you?”

The being set its cup down with deliberate grace.

“That depends,” it said. “Who do you think I am?”

Reid exhaled sharply, narrowing his eyes. “That’s not an answer.”

The being chuckled. “No, I suppose it isn’t.” It leaned forward slightly, its glowing gaze locking onto his. “You may call me Watcher. For now, that should suffice.”

“What, no, why am I here?” Reid asked, completely getting his nerves under control.

Watcher let out a soft sigh, as if reminiscing about something long past.

“It’s been a while since I had visitors who would share tea with me,” it said, swirling the liquid in its cup. “Most simply… break.”

Reid tensed at the implication. “Break?”

Watcher waved a hand dismissively “Oh, don’t concern yourself with the details. You’re doing remarkably well, all things considered.”

Reid wasn’t sure whether to take that as a compliment or a warning.

He set his teacup down, ignoring the way his fingers still trembled slightly. “That doesn’t answer my question. Why am I here?”

Watcher tilted its head, as if the answer should be obvious enough to Reid.

“Because you were meant to be,” it said simply. “Because we were meant to speak.”

“That’s vague as hell.”

The being let out a low chuckle. “Would you prefer a lie, then?”

“I’d prefer the truth.” Reid said.

“The truth, Reid Fletcher, is that your journey is at a crossroads.” Watcher leaned forward, resting its hands on the table.

“You stand on the verge of something far greater than yourself,” Watcher continued. “Power, knowledge, destiny—call it what you will. The choices you make moving forward will shape not only your future but the fates of those around you.”

“What does that mean? Are you saying—”

Watcher raised a finger, cutting him off. “Ah, but that is not why we’re here.” It gestured toward the table. “Right now, we are simply… enjoying tea.”

Reid’s eye twitched, he wanted more than anything to flip this table and demand answers from this being but the scene from the void prevented him from doing so.

He had no choice but to take a sip from the tea cup in his hand and his eyes immediately widened.

Reid wasn’t a tea person, as he preferred sweet drinks like Latte but this tea tasted different.

The warmth spread through his body like liquid comfort, and yet there was a complexity to it, subtle sweetness, hints of spices, and a calming floral aftertaste. It was… almost like the drink understood what he needed.

“Told you it was good” The watcher spoke again “tea is always good for the mind.”

Reid nodded but said nothing else as he continued drinking the tea, down to the last drop.

The watcher seemed satisfied that Reid was finally enjoying his tea. They both drank in peaceful silence until the watcher broke it.

“Alright, let’s get back to the reason why you’re here.” The watcher said, finally ready to address him.

Reid gently placed his tea cup on the table, feeling a lot calmer than before. Even the slight trembling of his fingers had seized.

“Tell me, Reid” it said, voice eerily calm. “Do you truly understand what you are becoming?”

“What I am becoming?” Reid repeated in confusion.

“Your destiny is tied to this world and the one below” the watcher informed “every decision you make, affects both.”

“What is the world below?” Reid asked. Multiple people have mentioned something about the world below and yet, he had no idea what it was.

“All will be revealed in time,” the watcher said “for now, you must to know three things.”

“You must become one with yourself,” the watcher raised a finger before putting up another, “the beings s you stand against are not ones you can face alone, gather strong allies.”

“And finally, you are going to die.”

Reid couldn’t even fully process the watcher’s words before he spoke again,

“I guess this is as long as I can keep you here,” the grassland disappeared, returning them back to the void.

“I’ll leave you with a little gift which I hope comes in handy when you need it”

A glowing string of light suddenly appeared and impaled Reid in the head, causing him to scream in agony.

The pain lasted for a while before everything faded to black.

___________

Gasp!

Reid’s eyes snapped open as he regained his breath. It felt like he had just resurfaced from murky waters.

But before he could fully catch his breath, he heard a voice.

“Hello Reid, I see you’ve finally woken up.”

Reid raised his head to look at the speaker and that’s when he noticed, he was restrained by a black goo wrapped around him.

Directly in front of him was a massive being of wiggling black gooey flesh, a being Reid recognized clearly from one of the absorbed memories,

The mother voidspawn.