Chapter 488: A Kingdom to Fight For

Walking into Aeriel’s office, Aether sat down in his chair. It was a bit strange; he had called him, and yet he was the one late. Luckily for him, he didn’t have to wait for that long, as A. walked in... with blood painted on his blonde hair,

Aether’s eyes widened, confused, which made Aeriel chuckle. "It’s nothing." He said, sitting down in his chair across the desk. "I had my reasons for killing him, so he wasn’t innocent."

’I really don’t care if he was or not... but I guess it’s nice to know?’ He nodded, still confused about what was happening.

Aeriel leaned back in his chair, rotating in it. "I heard from a shadow that you were listening to my conversation with that man. Is that right?"

Aether stiffened a bit, but then quickly regained himself. He had no reason to try and keep it hidden. A. had way more things to deal with than getting mad at him for listening to a conversation, so he nodded, confirming to him what the shadow had said.

"I see... then this makes things easier. I don’t have to explain... can you fight?"

...

’So this is the reason, huh?’ Aether smiled, staring at Aeriel. Of course, he should have expected that he was going to ask him to help him; after all, he had respect for him, only because of his mark, but still.

It was still something very important; after all, it gained respect for a reason. It wasn’t just any mark. But the mark of the Abyss, the one that has terrified people for centuries, and had been born with the first Vessel.

"I think I’m quite skillful," Aether said, tapping his nails against each other, not making eye contact with Aeriel. He was confident; after all, he hadn’t met so many powerful humans in his three months, the only thing dangerous being the monsters, of course. The ones that were going to come were going to be stronger than normal, so he was going to have to be more careful; that is, if he wanted to survive.

Aeriel clapped his hands together. "Perfect, then you won’t mind helping me out, right? I did welcome you into my Kingdom, even giving you a room in my castle, so helping a brother out won’t be that hard, right? You heard it; what’s going to happen? I don’t blame you if you don’t wish to; I won’t force you to risk your life because of my selfish decision. But know, still, it would be amazing if you did..."

It was funny; at first, his tone was like usual, full of energy and confidence, yet as time went on, he started to lose it, his voice becoming more and more serious. At least to him, it was clear just how much he cared for his people.

It was also why he didn’t know if he should do this... after all, at least in his eyes, he wasn’t the best person for this. He was strong, but working alongside his people, if they did fight, would make him a heck of a lot weaker because of his bane.

...

He was also scared.

Not for his life; he was confident that he could get out if something happened, but rather for the people around him... what if he got them killed? He was tired of it, and it was going to continue happening if he worked with others, maybe not in the immediate moment. But in the future, it will.

But at the same time, if he didn’t help, the people were going to die either way. He didn’t think Aeriel had the power to take so many people on, and he needed him alive; he had information that he could squeeze out slowly but surely.

He wasn’t going to let Merwin take it from him... and speaking of it, this was also a good moment to try and kill him.

...

Was it going to be easy... not even close...

...

He wasn’t Lilith; he didn’t have his powers to be able to fight so many people and be an unstoppable force of nature... well, in reality, he was stoppable, but only by something far stronger... But the idea is still the same. It was a bit... confusing how much time had passed since his death; it didn’t feel real at all. A big part of it couldn’t even accept it; it still felt as if he was alive, but just not with him.

Except he was dead. There was nothing that could give his life back.

And there was no way for him to become like him; Lilith was unique... one in a generation, just like Keres was. As strong as he was, he could never have compared; if they were to have fought, he would have been badly beaten.

But... what mattered was that he was alive... and that he could continue to grow strong, until he could surpass the level he was at, or get close to it.

Even if he wasn’t going to have his strength in this battle... he was going to achieve it one day.

He was going to be the strongest Vessel... not now, and probably not in the near future.

But he will... even if it means that all the others have to be dead.

...

Well, he technically was already, but it didn’t feel right. After all, he was just the strongest because Lilith was dead; he also had no idea who the last Vessel was, if he was even alive, or what his strength was.

Sighing, he looked at Aeriel. "I’ll help... at least the best I can. I can’t promise that I will help you win it. But I will put everything I have on the line..."

A. face turned bright, a smile curling big on his face. "That’s good. I do appreciate it..." He chuckled. "Though, I would like it if you also called me ’ leader when saying my name, but only when fighting. That way there isn’t any difference between you and all the other soldiers."

At first, he had to say he thought it was a bit of a weird request, but after hearing the reason, he perfectly understood. The worst thing in a war is drama inside your own team, and something as little as this can cause it, even if it doesn’t seem like it could.

"If you say so, Leader Aeriel," Aether said, laughing, while testing it out...

...

...

Yet A. didn’t respond; instead, he just stood still, his smile still on his face, the same as before. His whole face had not moved an inch.

...

"So?" Aeriel asked, tilting his head. Which confused Aether.

"So what?"

...

...

"Well... I just thought that you would test it out?"

Aether’s eyes widened as he stared at A., trying to figure out what was going on. He didn’t understand what he was saying; he had just said his name. He remembered saying his name; had he said it too quietly?

No, that’s just stupid; he had said it perfectly fine.

...

’Wait...’

Aether cleared his throat. "Fine, I’ll say it..." He bit his lip. "Aeriel."

He stared at A., trying to find a reaction from him, but nothing; it was almost like he didn’t hear it... No, rather, he was sure that he couldn’t hear it. It’s also why he dropped the Leader; he knew that it couldn’t have anything to do with it. The thing that mattered was his name.

...

’But he heard his name perfectly fine when Merwin said it, so why... I’m so confused... There’s no reason why this should be happening. And I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a case like this before... this is so strange...’

Seeing that Aether was quiet, Aeriel leaned forward. "Are you feeling alright? You’re acting strange." He leaned back in his seat with a smirk. "Maybe some air will calm you down. We are done with our talk either way, so you can go breathe if you need to."

...

"Yeah, thanks... I think I will do so." He didn’t feel like something was wrong with him; he was perfectly fine. But at the same time, it was better to let it go for now than continue to chase this mystery; it would be weird if he continued to say his name and try to get a reaction, since for him, he would just be sitting and staring at him.

Walking to the door, he left the office, only to be met by a group of Lost, just listening in by the door. The moment he walked out, they instantly started running away.

’What the heck is wrong with them... There has to be something going on with them... I’ll pay more attention to the Lost in this place... since they are no way normal.

...

Listening in on our conversation, and more importantly, they keep running away from me for some reason... while sticking close to Aeriel.

I’m not sure if it’s their loyalty to him or something else... but I have to figure it out.’