Chapter 533: Lost Prince

The girl stopped, staring at him. Her face had gone completely pale as she stared at him before taking a deep breath, calming herself down. "How terrible this forest is..." She said as she summoned her blade,

He should have expected this; of course, she would think he wasn’t real. It was convenient that her dead brother was suddenly revealed to be alive in a forest that uses the dead for illusions. Sofia isn’t dumb.

She wouldn’t trust him so blindly.

The question was how to make her realize that he wasn’t a mimic, and in reality, he was her little brother... he didn’t think words would get to her, and he might not have time to explain himself, as she was definitely not going to let him talk; she considered him a mimic, and his words would only hurt her more.

It was normal for her to want him gone as soon as she could.

...

But he did know something he could do... that being, putting his hood on.

It was ironic; hiding himself from her was that thing that revealed himself to her. ’How wicked fate is.’

Seeing him put on his hood, she recognized him as the mysterious figure from before, the same person she so wished to see the identity of.

She dropped her blade onto the ground as she froze in place.

Aether took the hood back off as he smiled. Seeing her frozen state, he moved forward, yet as he did, she followed, running to him, before hugging him deeply.

The way she gripped him was as if she was afraid to let go, afraid that he might not be there next time. That he was going to disappear once more.

He hugged her back, tears falling on her back from his eyes as he tried to hold them in, but he couldn’t; as much as he tried, they just flowed out.

She pulled back slightly, staring him in the eyes, only to tear up as she recognized them well, putting a hand on his chin before hugging him again.

He rested a hand on her head as he heard her tear up.

It was going to take some time before they could actually talk.

...

...

...

After finally pulling away, Sofia wiped the tears from her eyes. "But... I don’t understand; shouldn’t you be dead?" She asked, confused but also exhausted from all the crying she had done.

"How are you still alive so many years after your death was announced?"

Aether chuckled slightly. "I just... didn’t die? Jude protected me; he’s the reason I’m still alive today... after that, I lived in the Withered."

"The Withered?!" She said, her eyes wide. "That is unexpected, for a prince to live in such conditions..."

Aether raised his hands in the air. "It’s fine, completely fine." He said, before scratching the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "I actually have taken a liking to the Withered... even choosing to help it instead of coming back home."

"But..." She said, as she tried to figure out what to say next. "I have so many questions."

Aether sighed, putting a hand over his head. He knew there was a lot to talk about, but was this the best place to do it, and more importantly, the right time?

"I know... but I think we should probably get out of the forest first," Aether said, looking around through the fog as he saw more and more mimics around them... some from his past. Before, he would have been afraid of them, but now... he didn’t feel anything.

He offered Sofia his hand. "Come on, let’s get out of here." He said, smiling as she took his hand.

Leaving the place, everyone else seemed to have returned, including Keres, who was the most surprised of everyone else, but after his surprise, a big smirk appeared on his face as he walked towards him.

"Look at that, good. I was getting annoyed by this whole situation." He said to Aether before turning to Sofia. "See." He nudged her. "I told you it was a good idea not to kill him that day; you would have badly regretted it, am I right?" She sighed, pushing him away slightly. But he was right... Very right.

If she had killed the hooded figure that day, who in reality was Aether, she had no idea what she would have done.

"Also, did he tell you he’s the Abyss’s Vessel-" Aether’s hand flew over his mouth, but it was already too late; she had heard the truth... and the amount of explaining he was going to have to do only multiplied.

...

...

"I see..." Sofia said, grabbing her chin with her hands, as the campfire burned hot between the three of them, since Keres had decided to join, which had only made his time explaining even more annoying.

"This just... doesn’t feel real. I don’t know how to react at all. I had long lost hope, and now all of a sudden, you’re here in front of me... what am I supposed to say, what do I do?"

Aether opened his mouth, trying to speak to her, but as he was about to, Keres cut him off, speaking first. "You don’t have to do anything. The past is the past; the present is what matters, and the future, of course; even if you’ve lost so many years of his life, what matters is to be in the next."

He wanted to be mad at Keres for speaking on his behalf, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like he was saying anything bad; neither he nor Sofia should focus on the past. What happened happened; that was all. There’s no rewriting it.

But they had the future, which was far more important.

She smiled. "I know..." She leaned forward, grabbing his chin once more, to study his face. "It’s just weird seeing him so mature all of a sudden; he was much younger the last time I saw him, a child, truly. And now..."

...

"It seems like Caelurea has found its Lost Prince."