Rise Of The Scoundrel

27. Inner Potential

"That was brilliant."

Asher's eyes snapped open at the voice. Unable to stop himself, he emitted a groan of pain and exhaustion as he forcefully brought himself upward. Merely sitting in the shallow water was painful with his muscles and tendons screaming in protest as he fought to keep himself upright. He knew there was no use in attempting to stand - he would simply fall.

"Why haven't I done that sooner?"

Asher shot the figure a dark look from across the void, though he was pretty sure it didn't notice. It was too distracted as it paced the perimeter of the glass wall as it spoke to itself in a distorted tone which normally Asher would have been incapable of tolerating, but he was too exhausted to care.

"Because -" Asher coughed, his dry throat making it difficult to speak, "you still aren't strong enough. Right?"

The figure stopped in its tracks and slouched dramatically, turning to face Asher as it cursed under its breath. "Someone's figuring things out on their own now, hm?"

"I'm sure there's still plenty I don't know, but you're going to tell me that now, aren't you?"

It stepped up to the glass, placing a large hand across the surface and igniting a reaction that startled Asher. Opaque patterns contrasted against the crystal clear glass as they danced, beginning at the shadow's point of contact and scurrying outward. They dissipated after a few feet, and the Shadow dropped its hand. Asher had no visible proof, but he could almost feel in his gut that the figure was smiling.

"Unfortunately, I do recall saying that," it sighed. "I've never been the type to go back on my agreements... I hope you haven't gone and made a list or anything."

"I haven't exactly had the time," Asher deadpanned and gestured to his current position.

"Then scrounge up what you can in the next five minutes."

"I get the feeling you'll be sticking around for a while, so what should I call you? I keep referring to you as a shadow in my head but it just... doesn't fit."

"I know," it scoffed. "I've heard your thoughts and it's incredibly insulting. Could a mere shadow produce the mass destruction I created?"

"Going by your thought process, wouldn't it be the destruction we created?"

It clenched its fists at its sides, shoulders tensing and taking a step even closer to the glass. "Don't try to take credit for things you weren't conscious of," it snarled, and Asher recoiled reflexively. "You can't even fathom..." The shadow started to criticize but paused with a tilt of its head, "Is that guilt I'm sensing?"

Asher's eyes dropped to the bottom step of the platform. "Believe me, I don't want any credit for what happened... But I know you can hear them out there just as well as I can - blaming me for what happened."

"What a burden being the face of the operation must be," it drawled sarcastically.

"What operation?"

"Our progress."

"Towards what?"

"Reaching your full potential, of course. Me!" It exclaimed with a distorted shrill.

Asher furrowed his brow, forcing his body to stand against its will. He managed to haul himself to one knee but not without breaking a sweat. He felt as though he weighed ten times more than usual, having to rest a moment before forcing what little strength he had into his legs to stand.

"You're being as unclear as ever," he wheezed, hunched over and clasping his hands around his knees.

"Then let me keep it simple," it growled in annoyance and childishly annunciated each word. "I'm a personification of your potential - what you should be aiming to achieve for the Trial."