Chapter 31: Down The Rabbit Hole

It was still nighttime, but he could see perfectly due to his dragon eyes; the nightmares were on his mind. Archer came to and looked at the woman who seemed to care before answering. ''I'm fine, thanks; what happened here?''

Sarah sighed, seeing that the boy was okay. She explained what happened after he was dragged away: ''Well, they ambushed us. The guards were putting up a good fight but couldn't keep up with the beast's speed, and we started losing until an adventurer group came to help.''

He pointed towards the new group, which was resting by the river. ''Who are they?''

''They are an adventurer group called the Dragon Slayers from the Eastern Duchy. They were hunting the wendigos for the local lords,'' Sarah answered.

When Archer hears their name, he instantly gets angry and stops speaking as he stares at the men. Sarah notices the boy's mood change and sees him staring at the group with a glare full of hate and anger.

That's when everything clicked. 'He's a dragon.'

She stared at him, examining his white scales and horns; when she saw his shining violet eyes, she remembered a story about a certain dragon king.

'Once, a majestic White Dragon ruled his kingdom with power and grace.

His white scales shone brilliantly in the sunlight while his violet eyes glistened like jewels. He was feared and respected by all who knew him, both dragon and mortal. Many believed the King's violet eyes held the power to mesmerize and enchant even the most hardened hearts.

His loyal subjects knew behind his piercing gaze laid a fierce and protective demeanor that made him a formidable ally and a terrifying adversary. Despite his cold and sometimes aloof demeanor, the White Dragon King was beloved by his followers.

Tales of his heroism and bravery filled the land, and his name became synonymous with both greatness and fear. But one day, an evil sorcerer threatened to overthrow the King and take control of his kingdom.

The sorcerer summoned an army of dark creatures that ravaged the land, leaving chaos in their wake. Despite the odds stacked against him, the White Dragon King rose to the challenge and called forth the full fury of his power.

With an ear-splitting roar and lightning bolt from his violet eyes, the White Dragon King unleashed his wrath upon the horde of monsters.'

Sarah nodded to return to the present and stared at the boy before asking, ''Archer, you're a dragon, aren't you?''

When he heard her speak, Archer looked at her and nodded. Her eyes widened before quietly asking. ''You're a white dragon?''

He scrutinized the woman like an idiot before replying sarcastically and laughing, ''Yes, can't you see the color of my scales and horns?''

She smiled at the boy before answering, ''Yes, I can see that, you sarcastic little shit; you better be careful of the Church Of Light. They won't like you at all.''

He laughed as he heard her warning before telling her what happened. ''Yeah, we met in Oxfair village when I was doing the goblin quest. They attacked me, but I escaped.''

Sarah's eyes widened as she heard him speak. ''They attacked you?''

She remembered the gossip she heard a little while ago, how the church of light was looking for a white-haired boy. Sarah didn't know why she hadn't connected the dots until now, but at least she knew and could help him.

As the two talked, the camp was getting packed into the carriages. Sarah noticed he wasn't paying attention to the conversation anymore. So she gave him some space and went to help out.

Archer wasn't entirely there. All he could see and think about was the lifeless body of Ella. It haunted him, and he wasn't paying attention even during the talk with Sarah. That's when the memories flooded back and drove him mad.

The dream with Alexa and the little girl was plaguing him, sending him spiraling even deeper into the rabbit hole of madness. ''Why did I die? I did nothing wrong! I just loved her and never bothered anyone while helping anyone I could.''

Archer started talking to himself without realizing that five people were watching him from inside a carriage. They all wondered what had caused him to suffer so much.

''Noah, I swear to all the gods you will pay for what you've done!'' He mumbled to himself before he remembered the little girl from his nightmare shouting out to him again, making his spiral even worse.

'DADDY.'

''Go away!''

The fusion of souls brought him pain and suffering, one of the side effects caused the new Archer to inherit all the trauma, feelings, and, pain of the other two. As he was walking, he experienced a flashback of a memory that the old he suffered just days before he fell into the coma.

It was a memory of his sister Hyara and half-brothers Aldwulf and Pallius visiting his room one night after he lost. He heard his sister speak to him with hate in her voice. ''Why do I have to have a useless brother like you when everyone else has a talented older brother, but I'm here stuck with you!''

SMACK!~

''Useless!''

Archer was so shocked that his blood sister slapped him that he didn't know how to respond when he only ever loved her and tried to help her. But the three suddenly started beating him. The old Archer's feelings flowed into him as he watched all this.

He remembers going to his mother once the beating was over, and she even slapped him across the face, telling him to man up. The rage and anger were building up as the barrier failed to keep it in check, and it all poured out of the boy.

''Why did you all treat me that way? I didn't do anything wrong apart from losing a fight, and you treat me in such a vile manner!''

That's when he heard two voices that angered him even more. ''You're a failure to this family; I regret giving birth to such a useless child!''

''Die, die, die, she's mine!''

He covered his ears as the voices were screaming directly into them. Archer started talking to himself again. ''Ahhhhh, go away, it's not my fault I lost. I tried my best against the beast!''

''I will return and get him. I'm here now and have Ella, but I need to protect her; she's precious and special, and no one must touch her!''

When he started getting angry at the thought of someone harming her, Archer took his rage out on a nearby tree, blowing it to bits with an eldritch blast. As the caravan moved down the road, an explosion went off not far from them, scaring the guards, but Isaiah calmed them down.

Archer was raging at everything. He may have been seventeen on Earth, but after he was murdered on Earth, bullied, and tormented by Thrylos, it all added up, causing him to break mentally.

He started mumbling to himself while smiling; when the five watching saw that smile, they knew the boy was broken at that moment.''One day, I will get my revenge and make them suffer just as I did!''

He started letting out a creepy laugh.

''Aldwulf, Pallius, and Mother will pay.''

''Noah will burn in my flames.''

''Everyone will pay!''

''Hunt and kill.''

''Eat hearts and level up!''

''Protect Ella.''

''Return to earth and take my revenge.''

The boy's mind is broken. Too much has happened to the other two, and now the new Archer suffers from the aftermath, causing his mind to collapse. He continued walking next to the carriage while talking to himself, and Archer never noticed the people watching him.

The human Jaen turned to Sarah and asked. ''He's crazy; look at him. He is talking to himself.''

Her husband spoke up with a sad tone. ''Darling, the boy has suffered so much that his mind is broken.''

''That's sad; he's so young and shouldn't have to suffer anything like this,'' Tiefel said, her ears drooping down as she thought of the boy who had saved her.

''Sarah, do you know anything about him?''

She hesitated before speaking. ''Well, he is the fourth son of Duke Leonard Ashguard, but he was banished because he had lost the family's old tradition of fighting a beast to become a man.''

She stopped talking and looked at Archer, who was talking about food for some reason. ''He left the house but not before the other children tortured him, his mother threw him away, and then he got banished.

The poor boy has suffered more than most people. The maid I spoke to told me how bad the treatment was: beatings, starving him, and he couldn't eat at the family table.''

Baradar spoke up. ''So now he's an adventurer and taking quests alone?''

Sarah nodded. ''He isn't good with people as you can see, the only person he cares for is a maid called Ella who works in the Duke's castle.''