Chapter 140: The Worst Parents
Abyss’s expression turned strange.
“You castrated your own son for money, then sent him to the palace?”
Apos’s mother, clearly aware of her actions’ severity, lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. “Back then… I couldn’t function without alcohol. My husband had gambled away all our savings. No one was working… So…”
“Did you ever consider getting a job to buy your own alcohol?” Leona asked, her voice filled with disdain. Abyss’s shared consciousness allowed her to understand their conversation.
“Apos would occasionally do odd jobs, bringing me money for alcohol, but I couldn’t work without drinking… I get too agitated…”
“Right, I understand,” Rebecca said, cutting her off. She couldn’t stand listening to this drunkard’s excuses. Fortunately, she was dead now, free from her addiction, her speech coherent. But she still seemed to believe her actions were justified, constantly finding excuses.
“So, I believe I understand what happened. Let me summarize, and you can correct me if I’m wrong,” Abyss said, sighing. “Apos was close to a neighbor’s daughter. They often read and studied together, which sparked his dream of becoming a scholar. But his family was poor and in debt, forcing him to work odd jobs. You, driven by your addiction and your need for alcohol, decided to castrate him and send him to the palace as a eunuch, hoping to receive the reward money and his future wages. And you actually did it… If I’m not mistaken, the neighbor’s daughter stopped interacting with him after that, right?”
“Men who are castrated often have trouble controlling their bladder, resulting in a persistent, unpleasant odor. Most people avoid them,” Rebecca said, shaking her head. “And it must have had a profound impact on Apos’s personality.”
“Exactly! It’s all her fault! My son might have been a bookworm, but he was a healthy boy. He could have earned a living. But she went mad and had him castrated! He became frail, his personality grew darker. He stopped interacting with the neighbor’s girl. They moved away a few months later, and Apos just stayed home, reading her old books, never speaking to anyone!” Apos’s father said, pointing an accusing finger at his wife.
“How dare you blame me?! He was always like that! And you, you gambled away all our money, leaving us in debt! After you killed yourself, we were evicted, forced to live in a shack by the city walls!”
“If you hadn’t been a drunkard, refusing to work, I wouldn’t have gambled so much! A little gambling is harmless. I never bet big. I was just trying to earn enough to change our lives! You drove me to suicide!”
“Harmless?! Harmless my ass!” Apos’s mother shouted, her voice filled with rage. “You spent every day with your gambling buddies, giving away our money! Do you even know how your best friend, Bobby, treated us after your death?”
Abyss, Leona, and Rebecca all facepalmed. This couple was truly unbearable. They blamed everyone but themselves for their son’s misfortune, their selfish actions ruining his life for a paltry sum of money. If Apos had passed the palace tests, it might have been a different story. He could have thrived in the palace, his self-taught knowledge giving him an advantage over the other eunuchs. But he had failed. It was all for nothing.
Within a few days, he had lost everything. As a castrated boy with a persistent, unpleasant odor, he couldn’t face the girl he had once admired. And his parents’ attitude made it clear that he wouldn’t be sent to a prestigious academy in the Eastern or Western Empires. He couldn’t even find a decent job to earn money for his education.
No wonder he had become so bitter and resentful. His interactions with Abyss had revealed his deep-seated malice towards others, likely stemming from envy, but ultimately rooted in his own tragic experiences.
“Did Apos stay with you until your death?” Leona asked his mother.
She shook her head. “After what I did to him, our relationship was strained. And he refused to work, just staying home, eating our food. I sent him away. Then I drank myself to death. Fortunately, someone in town gave me a proper burial, although they buried me with that useless man. Damn it! I don’t want to be anywhere near him!”
“You, with your wrinkled face, your yellowed eyes, your bird’s nest hair, you reek! And you have the audacity to say that?” Apos’s father retorted.
“Let’s get back to the matter at hand,” Abyss said, interrupting their pointless bickering. “Did Apos ever experience nightmares? Before your deaths, did he ever mention having recurring nightmares?”
“I wouldn’t know. I was always drunk,” Apos’s mother said, shaking her head.
“I don’t think so. I sometimes saw him sleeping peacefully when I came home at night. He didn’t seem to be having nightmares,” his father said.
Abyss questioned the other Kohler wraiths, but none of them knew anything about Apos having nightmares. This suggested that the Lord of Nightmares hadn’t targeted him years ago. Apos had become his follower later.
“Do you have a plan?” Leona asked, patting Abyss’s hand.
“Apos’s personality is set, and he’s done too much evil to redeem himself. He must face the consequences of his actions. But I believe we can exploit his weaknesses… I’m going to start planning our next move,” Abyss said, then turned to Apos’s parents. “You two, take the others and return to your rest. Although you’re dead, I must tell you that having such selfish parents was Apos’s misfortune. I suggest you reflect on your actions before finding peace. I’ve given you enough spiritual energy to last for a few years. Now, go and reflect.”
The wraiths, not daring to disobey, knelt before Abyss, kowtowing repeatedly, then, along with their relatives, departed.
“Now, we’ll wait for the Restoration Army to begin their march, then we’ll find a way to lure out that pathetic and hateful creature,” Abyss said, clapping his hands, satisfied with the completion of this small task.
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