I Don't Need To Log Out-Chapter 319: Asef (2)

Two little boys were playing on the ground. Their identical looks made it clear they were twins.

The children had the appearance of nobles, with golden hair and bright blue eyes.

Again? Arlon asked himself.

He had seen this scene before.

Twice, in fact. Was it more?

But even so, he knew he needed to see it again.

This was a planet he didn't know about.

And yet, he had spent more than a lifetime here.

Not as a resident. Not even as a visitor.

Just... as a watcher.

Its people had once swept across their galaxy like a tide, unified under a single ruler, one of the two boys.

Efsa.

And the other boy? His twin.

The one who would later be known by another name.

The one with red eyes.

Asef.

Arlon had been wondering about it since the first time he saw those red eyes.

And after the explosion—after the vision had swallowed him whole—he had seen Asef's face clearly.

There was no doubt anymore.

They were the same.

Identical, except for the eyes.

As Arlon observed the memory play out again, he realized something new.

This time, he was watching through no one's POV.

The perspective had shifted and he was free to go around.

And still, even now, he couldn't hear their real names.

But the memory played on.

At some point, young Asef overheard two adults speaking near the village well.

They were murmuring about a rumor—an old tale passed down like a faded legend.

There was a well, deep in the forest, and it was said...

Whoever looked into it would have one wish granted.

Asef wasn't greedy. He loved his brother. He loved his mother. That was enough for him.

But he also saw how hard their mother worked.

How tired she looked when she thought no one was watching.

They had asked her about their father once. Twice. Maybe more.

But she never gave a real answer. Just silence, or something vague.

They learned the truth from others.

Their father hadn't just left.

He had kicked them out.

Tossed them from his home after a fight with their mother.

Still, they weren't starving. Their mother worked a steady job. They had enough to live.

But Asef knew.

He knew it wasn't easy for her to raise two boys alone.

So he made up his mind.

He would find that well.

And his wish?

It wouldn't be for himself.

He would wish for his mother's wish to come true—whatever it was.

It was simple. Naive.

Beautiful.

That night, he slipped out quietly.

He didn't even wake Efsa.

The only well he knew of was tucked into the forest not far from their village—an overgrown path leading to a stone ring half-swallowed by moss and time.

They'd found it together with Efsa once, but hadn't thought much of it.

On the way, he didn't wonder why no one else looked into the well.

Or about why anyone else didn't receive all the riches in the world or become the strongest being.

He was a kid. All he thought about was the look on his mother's face when her wish came true.

And, after walking for a bit more than half an hour, he had found the well.

Just a dry old thing. Weird, maybe. But not strange enough to make a big fuss about.

It stood exactly where he remembered—tilted slightly, silent and dark.

Asef's heart pounded with hope as he approached it.

Magic was rare in their world, and it belonged to the minority of nobles who had mana.

So, this was one of the small chances he would see something like magic.

And he looked down.

It was empty.

Bone dry.

Not just dry, but wrong. The walls looked ancient, untouched by rain, by time, by life.

This was another unusual thing. Even he knew that a well would fill after the rain, and it rained a lot around their village.

But this well wasn't just empty. It was more like it hadn't seen water for many decades.

Still, he didn't turn away.

And then...

It began to fill.

A strange blue liquid started to rise from the depths, not from the sides or the walls, but from the bottom.

Thick and radiant. Ethereal.

The liquid crept upward, inch by inch.

It glowed faintly in the moonlight, casting eerie reflections on the boy's face.

And when it reached the brim, it stopped.

No overflow.

No spill.

Just a perfect, still surface.

Then, without warning, a ripple spread across the water.

And a voice followed.

"Come closer..."

A man's voice.

Soft. Calm. Not commanding.

Inviting.

Asef leaned forward, entranced.

He moved as if he were charmed.

His breath caught in his throat as he lowered his face toward the surface—

Then through it.

The liquid didn't resist.

It welcomed him gently.

And the moment his face submerged, fear slammed into him like a wall.

He gasped. It felt like something was trying to enter his brain.

Some part of it was information, but not all of it.

He started struggling.

Tried to pull back. But something held him.

His hands clawed at the stone edge, feet scraping against the moss, but he couldn't move.

His lungs burned as he held his breath.

Of course, he was holding his breath.

He hadn't meant to breathe, but he did.

And somehow... he could. It shouldn't be possible under any kind of liquid.

The moment air entered his lungs, the panic faded into something worse.

Confusion.

And then—nothing.

He fainted.

***

By morning, the village was in panic.

Their mother had roused everyone before sunrise, screaming that Asef was gone.

Search parties combed the woods.

He was found soon after.

Sleeping peacefully in a clearing.

No wounds. No marks. No signs of distress.

Just lying there like nothing had happened. But they couldn't wake him up no matter what they tried.

And there was nothing near him.

No well. No liquid.

There had never been anything like a well in this forest anyway.