Chapter 388 The Tattoo of the Eye
Later that same day, Jesse sat on the chair of the tattoo parlor.
Anna was seated on the sofa behind him, flipping through the magazine. She was here as his guardian as they were attempting to remove the tattoo.
"All right, are you ready?" The tattoo artist arrived with the removal kit and asked one more time whether they wanted to proceed with the removal.
It was, after all, going to be painful.
"Be extra careful." Anna said worryingly. "He has an illness that makes his body vulnerable to injuries."
"I'll do my best, miss." The tattoo artist said, saw the nod from an unusually handsome, purple-eyed man, and then turned over to the tattoo.
It was a rather simple-looking tattoo, a star-pupiled eye.
As the tattoo artist began removing the tattoo, Jesse groaned in sudden pain, but he was somewhat able to endure it.
Anna looked from the sidelines with a worrying look.
She was the one who wanted him to get rid of the tattoo, but she would've never suggested it if it was going to be too painful.
Therefore, she anxiously watched and was ready to tell the tattoo artist to stop immediately if it looked like Jesse couldn't handle it.
As the time ticked down on the clock that was nailed to the wall, the sun soon set down on the outside, and the tattoo artist finished with the removal.
"Here." He looked at the spot where the tattoo was moments prior and saw that it was gone; only reddened skin was left.
"Thanks…" Jesse quickly covered the spot with his jacket and rubbed the side of his neck with an uncomfortable look.
It felt like someone was scratching sandpaper against his skin.
There were times when he wanted to scream out loud, but his pride couldn't allow that. Therefore, he swallowed all the screams and curses.
"Are you alright, Jesse?" Anna rushed to his side and gently touched his black hair. "Is it painful still?"
"No, it's fine, mother." Jesse stood up and looked at himself in the mirror.
His eyes looked slightly fatigued, revealing that it wasn't all that nice of an experience.
'This is why I never took a tattoo. It could literally kill me.'
After Anna finished the payment, she left the store with Jesse and looked at him worryingly as they approached their car.
"Are you sure you are fine?" She asked one more time. "If I knew it would hurt this much, I would've never told you to remove it."
"It's fine, mother." Jesse grabbed her by the hand, squeezed it firmly, and said, "I never wanted a tattoo, anyway."
"Then why did you take one?" She asked curiously.
She could only wonder how painful it was to get one.
"Aha…" Jesse wryly smiled and wondered how he should respond.
It wasn't his choice, but for some reason, the tattoo of the Eye of Shimon appeared on his body. It made him wonder what the meaning of that was.
'Can I use Eye of Shimon here or what?'
"Madam, young master," Sebastian, standing beside the car, bowed at them and opened the door for them.
As they stepped inside the car, Sebastian entered the driver's seat, and then, with the car roaring, they left the tattoo parlor and started driving back home.
…
As the night turned darker, Jesse stood in the bathroom after taking a hot shower.
He walked over to the sink and picked up a pair of scissors, as he planned to shorten his hair slightly. He also planned to shave the small stubble that was forming.
At that moment, he checked out the reddened skin, where the tattoo was only a few hours prior, and saw that it was slightly glowing.
"What is this..?"
In that moment, the star-pupiled eye tattoo that had been removed a few hours ago re-emerged from below his skin and again took a spot on his skin. It was almost like time had reversed.
"What?" Jesse's eyes widened in shock. "Why did it come back? Oh god damn it, did I suffer for nothing?"
He sighed heavily, realizing that it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of it. However, he didn't have time to worry about it for now.
Tonight, he was supposed to enter the Room of Damnation.
It was where he would spend the following week.
'They must be waiting for me. I have finished my preparations. It's time to enter that torture chamber.'
Jesse went to put on some comfortable-looking clothes and then took a comfy lying position on the bed.
He would log off a few times during his time in the Room of Damnation. After all, he would need to visit the bathroom and eat.
However, to not waste any time, he had secured enough food in the nearby drawers so that he wouldn't have to venture outside the room.
He also mentioned to Anna that they wouldn't see him at all. Therefore, they knew now not to disturb him.
"Well then, time to go." Jesse pressed the button on the side of the VR headset and again entered the magical gaming world.
…
In the Honorable Temple's basement, Ambrose stood in front of a ceiling-high granite door. It had an eerie symbol of a skull and scythe.
The Wisdom King stood behind him with his arms folded behind his back.
"Are you ready?" He asked with his wise-sounding voice.
"I am." Ambrose nodded with a deep sigh. "I have finished my preparations."
The Wisdom King nodded toward the temple's guards, who nodded in response and opened the heavy-looking granite door.
Once the door was fully open, Ambrose looked inside the empty-looking room with a feeling of trepidation.
He didn't know what his feeling was, but it felt suffocating, like there was something squeezing his heart. It made him feel heavy with anxiety.
At that moment, he felt a hand on his back, which pushed him inside the room.
As Ambrose turned around, he saw the Wisdom King standing with his eyes closed, and at praying stance, and then, the granite door closed shut.
Now, for the following week, Ambrose was stuck inside this small room with only his thoughts accompanying him.
"Hmm…" Ambrose sat cross-legged on the ground and looked around at the empty room. There was nothing to do there except meditate.
'I guess I'll have to start meditating right away. I'll have to focus on creating skills and simultaneously finish creating the foundation of Immortal Style.'
As he put his hands on the praying stance, and was about to enter the world of souls, a pillar of light descended from the ceiling and enveloped him wholly.
Ambrose's eyes shot open, and his purple eyes turned blood-red.
"Aaaaaargh!"
The soul inside him also cried out loudly.
In that instant, his soul got badly injured.
"F-f-f-f-f-fuuck!" Ambrose coughed out blood and held his chest with a suffocating feeling.
'H-how could I possibly meditate with such pain?!'
Outside the Room of Damnation, the Wisdom King listened to his disciple's screams of anguish.
"Focus the pain on the meditation. It's a powerful tool. Do not fear pain; instead, use it." He drew a cross on his chest and then left the basement with his eyes closed.
He hoped that his disciple would succeed.
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