Chapter 47 Illusion Iii

He started his car and began to drive his way home.

He knew he had a problem unknown even to the doctors, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Only he can hear the voice in his head and no one else,

How could there be an easy solution to something like that.

Perhaps like the doctor said, maybe all he really needed to do was rest his body.

After he is done with all the company project at hand, he plans to request a five day leave from the chief.

"Requesting for a leave while I'm the middle of a busy schedule obviously would not work".

The chief will give him a disdain look before rejecting him,

but if he asks for a leave after he is done with all the tasks at hand, then the chief might consider giving in to his request.

That is the best route for him at the moment.

During the drive to his home, the man had a lot of questions piled up at the back of his mind.

What sort of event is this?...

A voice only he can hear, is a tale that will sound to a third person as the ranting of a lunatic.

He even starts to wonder if he is going insane.

He has a wife and a five year old child waiting for him,

Being revered as a madman is not a reputation that will benefit his family in any way.

He has to keep this a secret until he knows specifically what it is or the doctor finds a medical explanation for it.

He does not want to needlessly worry his wife by telling her of an illness he does not have proof of.

Having decided to keep his mouth shut about it, the man concentrated on his driving.

***

He got to the garage, parked in his driveway, came out of the car, and locked it with the button on his hand.

He went to the elevator and pressed on the fourth number.

He came out of the elevator, walked through the passage surrounded by doors, and stopped at the door numbering seventy eight.

He placed his hand on the password device and hesitated on inputting the password.

He is saddened on having to lie to his wife about something that involves his health.

A vague memory of he and his wife promising to never keep any secrets from each other after their marriage crossed through his mind.

Now, he is about to break said promise to her.

He softly bangs his head on the door as he laments over his situation.

"sigh....".

'I am really sorry honey'.

He inputs the pass, and opens the door.

"click, click, click".

Hearing the sound of the password being clicked in, the inhabitants of the apartment, rushed towards it.

"honey, I am home".

The man called out, with the woman's reply picking up her pace towards the door.

She came out of the door located at the left corner of the room and ran towards her husband.

"darling....."

The woman with her two hands stretched, rushed over to her husband and give him a warm hug.

The husband, wrapped his two hands on her waist in return and also giving her a kiss on the lips.

"how was your day darling".

With a tensed tone, the husband answered.

"it..., it was fine"

"is there something wrong"

"no why do you ask"

"your face, you look very stressed. Also on the phone, what was that about".

"no..nothing. I just had a slight concussion. I have gone for a checkup and it turned out fine. The doc said all I needed to do was rest".

"here, this is the result of the medical checkup".

He puts his hand in the jacket pocket, and brings out the white plain paper report to hand over to his wife.

"hmm....., everything does look fine"

"I told you, I am fine. Now, where is my little wittle junior".

"he is having his meal. You know how he does not like to be interrupted during meal time?, an habit he picked up from you".

She said with a grumpy face.

"it's not my fault our child chose to emulate my eating style".

"I am not saying it is wrong for him to want to emulate your habit",

"all I am saying is, he shouldn't have taken on your worst qualities but should have gone for the good ones".

"so what qualities of mine should he have emulated".

He said with a grinning face, while groping her.

"any other qualities but the eating one".

He pounced on her, and started kissing her face with one of his hand on her bum and the other on her boobs.

"you know what honey, let's make another baby today".

"maybe later, you just got back from work, you need your rest now".

"no, no, no honey. I am perfectly fine with starti....".

"daddy...."

The voice of the child running towards his father with a gleeful face stopped him from completing his sentence.

The father's eyes met with the boy, and right there, the man felt an intense pain course through his head.

"urghugh....."

He crouched down and gripped his own head tightly.

[let me out, let me out].

[I want out of here, let me out].

The voice more aggressive than ever before tormented the father heavily.

"no, stop....",

"please..., stop",

"stop it whoever you are...."

Said the father as he continues to roll on the floor while in pain and agony.

"darling, are you okay, darling".

The woman, ran to her husband in distress but she could not get close to him because he wasn't staying still.

"mommy, what is wrong with daddy".

"junior, quick, go and bring me my phone now".

The little boy ran back to the room to go find his mom's phone while the mom stayed with her husband.

The man stopped squirming on the floor and stood up straight.

"darling are you alright now?, you told me the doctor said you were fine, so what was that all about".

"mom".

"....."

"darling, what did you just say".

The woman asked with a confused expression directed at her husband who just called her mom.

The man grabbed the woman and embraced her dearly,

Like someone who is happy to have found the most precious thing he had once lost.

"mom, you are alive..., how can this be?, how is this possible?".

"dad, what about dad, where is dad".

"darling, what are you saying?, why are you calling me mom?, is this a prank or something"

"mom, what do you mean a prank?, it is me your son, junior".

"..."

The mom even more confused than ever at the nonsense coming out of her husband's mouth.

He face does not seem like he is telling a lie or joking around, neither is the genuine emotions he is displaying.

She was dumbfounded and dumbstruck at what was happening with her husband.

Just then, the child came running back with the phone in hand.

"mom here you go".

"no....., no way".

"how?..., how is this possible?".

"that is me when I was younger, how come I am looking at myself right now".

"if that is me, then who am I?..."

"darling..."

The woman called with a calming tone to her husband who looks like he is about to snap.

"mom, mirror, where is the mirror".

The man barged in hastily, looking for any item closer to a mirror.

The woman still concerned for her husband's health and actions takes him to the room where the mirror was.

The man looked in the mirror, at the face he was portrayed in.

"this, this cannot be".

"this is dad's face, why do I have dad's face".

like some sort of trigger was pulled after he looked at the mirror, the man broke down in another intense streak of agony and pain.

This time it wasn't due to a voice ringing in his head, it was just pure pain coursing through his head.

He felt like his head was being splitted in half with an hammer.

The man screamed and yelled, did all sorts of physical stuff common to when a person is in an unfathomable pain.

He continued rolling himself on the floor while still holding unto his head.

The wife extremely worried, started dialing the emergency contact.

"..."

"i remember",

"darling...."

She stopped dialing when she saw her husband now relieved from the pain and muttering in silence.

The man got up from the floor and kept repeating the same word.

"yes, I remember it all now",

"i remember everything now".

"darling, what is it, what do you remember".

"mom and dad, as much as I both miss you, none of this is real".

"what are you talking about darling"

"all of this, it must be some kind of an illusion caused by a skill"

"darling...."

she kept calling out to her husband in a soft and accommodating tone.

I was six when the accident happened, I lost you and dad then and I had to adapt to living on my own until I also died".

"but that was not all",

"I died..., I died and had my soul transmigrated in the body of a goblin".

"darling, you are scaring me now".

"no mom, this is not dad, this is me junior".

"none of this is real, everything, it is all false".

"it is all a mind game. Someone is playing tricks on me using the memories of my parents".

"darling.."

The woman moved closer to he husband to calm him down, but the husband moved away from her.

"no, whoever you are, this, this is not going to work on me".

"darling, what are you saying, it is me your wife".

"no, no you are not. You are not my mother, neither am I your husband".

"this is all a mind game and someone out there is pulling the strings".

"I just know it".

[Ding]

As the man was assuring himself that all of what he is seeing, is nothing but an illusion, a blue panel appeared in his front.

[Congratulations],

[you have passed the screening of the Fire Guardian]

[you have earned the qualifications to enter the Tomb of the Fire Guardian].