The Watcher Above
Chapter 37
"You can stop now."
Eidolon's voice was low.
Shaking.
Tears still clung to his eyes.
His "mother" tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean, honey...?"
Her smile remained warm.
Perfect.
Too perfect.
Eidolon's expression hardened.
"You can stop now."
His voice was firmer this time.
"I know it's not real."
Silence.
For a brief moment-
Nothing changed.
Then-
Her smile froze.
Cracked.
And slowly-
Twisted into something ugly.
Tsk.
She clicked her tongue in irritation.
The warmth vanished completely.
Disgust replaced it.
"You brat..."
Her voice lost all softness.
"So you knew?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"...Since when?"
Eidolon didn't hesitate.
"From the very beginning."
He wiped the tears from his face.
"You should've done a better job."
A faint, cold expression settled over him.
"...If you wanted to lower my guard."
The thing wearing his mother's face stared at him for a moment.
Then-
It slowly raised its hand.
Stretching it toward his forehead.
It stopped just inches away.
Then-
Tap.
Her finger touched the air.
And reality-
Shattered.
Like glass breaking from the inside.
The warmth.
The light.
The room.
All of it cracked and collapsed into nothingness.
Eidolon opened his eyes.
Darkness.
Endless.
Heavy.
The air itself felt alive-thick with something suffocating.
Dark energy drifted like smoke in every direction.
Eidolon stood there.
Silent.
Empty.
No fear.
No shock.
Just... watching.
Then-
He looked forward.
And it stood there.
The entity.
Towering.
Unchanging.
But this time-
Eidolon saw something new.
Chains.
Wrapped tightly around its body.
Binding it.
Restricting it.
But something was wrong.
Eidolon's eyes narrowed.
"...Where do they lead?"
The chains didn't anchor to the ground.
Didn't connect to anything behind it.
They stretched upward.
Endlessly.
Like they were tied to something far above.
Eidolon slowly lifted his head.
Following the chains.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher-
And then-
He saw it.
His body froze.
A gigantic eye stared down at him.
Vast.
Endless.
Unblinking.
Watching.
The chains-
Were not just bindings.
They were part of it.
Forming it.
Connected to it.
As if the entity itself was only a fragment-
And this... thing above was the true source.
Eidolon's vision distorted.
Pain exploded in his skull.
Blood streamed from his eyes instantly.
Just looking at it-
Was forbidden.
"GAAAHHHH!!"
He screamed.
His body trembled violently as the pressure crushed his mind.
The eye did not blink.
Did not move.
It simply watched.
And in that moment-
Eidolon realized something far worse than death.
The entity...
Was not the true monster.
...