Chapter 339: Driven By Pure Will
Veyr was the same as he remembered, the port as sunny and happy as it was when he and Kade had left, yet this time, while only two of them had left, now they were three. Lucien seemed pretty surprised by everything. It was the first time for him that he was something from another Island other than Stormfell, and he had to say, he was impressed.
Now all that remained was to get to the forest where Kael lived and see what his master was doing. He had wanted to stay for a little longer, to let Lucien enjoy a new island, and for them to remember old memories. But when he was this close, he really couldn’t wait.
So they left the port and headed towards the forest. It was good that the forest was on the first island, just like the dojo; even if that part of the island was completely different from the rest, it was still a nice thing to see.
When they reached the forest, Aether couldn’t help but let his eyes wander around, seeing many scenes from months ago, of him inside the forest. Memories flowed into his mind from the time he had problems with his anger and was trying to keep it in check. Back when he was more of a maid for Kael than a student.
Times before he had gone to the Arena, before he had proved himself to Kael.
Before heading towards the dojo instantly, Aether led them to the cave, the one where both he and Kael had fought their anger. The waterfall was as gorgeous as he remembered, so he let Lucien and Kade have some fun in it, fighting with the water, before leaving and finally going towards the dojo.
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His heart was beating, quite a lot, after all, it had been a damn long time since he was last here, he couldn’t wait to see what his master was doing, and to see his reaction to the fact that he had succeeded in his mission.
Though it was a bit weird, the porch looked empty and dirty, but without him cleaning around it was to be understood, so he didn’t think much of it. Aether signaled to Kade and Lucien not to talk; that way, he could surprise Kade, so they sneaked inside, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Aether waited a bit before bursting into the main room with a happy smile on his face.
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"Huh...?"... Aether froze, his face paling, as his eyes just stared, completely dead, as if all the light inside of them had been lost in one second. Both Kade and Lucien had also frozen; the magician was covering his mouth, looking away.
In the middle of the room was Kael, but he didn’t give him a warm welcome as he expected... well, maybe because he was lying dead on the floor, with blood that already looked old and that had mostly hardened. His body looked heavily burned, his face hardly even noticeable, and with some worms already starting to take the body, the sight was not only terrifying but also completely disgusting.
...’ This isn’t real...’ But it was, it was as real as it was good, and he couldn’t deny it.
Aether stepped forward, kneeling in front of his deceased master... he looked to have been burned to death... but by whom?
He frowned deeply. ’By who else...’ The master of the Fire Will. Was this the reason the guy had mentioned Kael in their talk... but why? What was his relationship with Kael, and why had he done something like this? What did the man do to deserve this? He was powerless; he couldn’t even use the blade, so what was the point in killing a defenseless old man?
It was sickening.
... "Oh? You guys got here quicker than I thought." Aether lifted his eyes before the man could even finish his sentence... he dared to show his face, now? "Is this your doing?" He asked, even if he knew that he was the culprit, he wanted him to say it with his own mouth. Before he beat the shit out of him.
Ramius chuckled. "And if it is? What are you going to do about it?" Aether clenched his fists, summoning Voidpiercer, and dashing forward, but before he could even get close, a wall of fire appeared in front of him to block his attack. It was hotter than any fire he had seen; if he stepped through, he would be burned quite badly.
Kade, seeing this, also summoned his blade. "Bastard." Trying to help Aether attack the man. But before he could, his hands caught on fire, and he screamed, letting go of his blade, as he fell to his knees in pain.
"Kade, how disappointing, and I saw so much potential in you... and yet you chose the blade, wasted potential."
But as he finished his sentence, a giant rock was heading his way, about to hit him, but before it did, he quickly dodged it, a frown appearing on his face, as he burned Lucien.
Aether gritted his teeth... both Lucien and Kade have been burnt by this guy... and it wouldn’t stop...
So he clenched his blade until the hilt rubbed against his palm enough to rip some of the skin, and dashed through the fire. The pain was there; it was one of the worst feelings ever, like he was burning alive, but if this was what he was feeling, then both Kade and Lucien were also feeling this, and they couldn’t do anything to stop it, only he.
He raised his blade, thrusting it towards Ramius’s head, but before he could kill him, the fire in his hands instantly intensified. As his hands let go of the blade in pain, he screamed as he stepped back from the wall of fire, his hands continuing to burn.
It was way worse than anything he had felt.
But then an Idea came to him.
Aether clenched his blade, biting his lip deeply, trying to ignore the pain, even if it was hitting the back of his brain. He dashed forward with his blade already ready, but before he went through the fire. He used Erosion.
At that moment, all the pain was gone, but so was his vision and everything else. The moment everything came back, he saw Voidpiercer strike the man’s shoulder, as he gasped in pain.
He had done it, he had hit him.
But... the pain from Erosion and the fire almost made him faint instantly. It was one of the worst things he had ever felt in his whole life; it felt as if he was in hell and was tormented by the devil, which was how bad it was. As if he were being punished by a divine being.
Ramius frowned, gripping Voidpiercer. "You brat..." But then he smiled. "Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore..." He moved Aether’s head so he would see what was behind him, showing him the dead and burned bodies of Kade and Lucien.
The moment he saw them. Aether clenched the blade as he drove it deeper inside the man... if he was going to die, this guy was going to die with them.
But before he could, he caught on fire... but he didn’t stop. He felt his skin getting melted, burned alive, his hair slowly getting destroyed one by one, and the pain from Erosion didn’t make it any easier. He felt himself foam at the mouth, but he didn’t stop pushing the blade deeper.
He felt this deep hatret inside of him, it kept him alive, he didn’t know how, after all with how much pain he was inside, he had no idea how he was still on his feet, after all this fire wasn’t like any normal fire, it was much hotter than anything, and the pain from Erosion had not dimmed, and it wasn’t like he had gotten used to it. He was feeling all the pain; his body just didn’t want to stop. It didn’t want to give up.
If he did, then their death’s would be for nothing.
He would also never avenge Kael... this was his chance, as hard as it was. He was going to kill this guy, if it was the last thing he did, he was going to make him suffer, and give him the same fate he had given his master and friends, alongside probably who knew how many people before them.
If he had entered this trial to redeem his sins and become a Seeker, then now it was time for the Master of the Fire Will to do the exact same thing.
He didn’t stop even as he was burning alive, not until the blade left the man’s body from the other side, and when it did, he retracted it, thrusting it one more time, into the man’s heart.
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[You have killed-]
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[You have died]
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[The Demon of Dread welcomes you into The Tides]
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