Chapter 340: Dead Once More
When Aether opened his eyes, he found himself in a familiar place. One he could never forget, a place that he had spent months of his life just to escape, and how he was back where he had started.
Well, his intention was to get to this place, but not in the way he did.
The Tides, he had returned.
It was the same as when he had left; the colors of this place had never left his mind, the lack of bright colors, the bluish-green glow everywhere, the ocean-like atmosphere, it had not changed a bit.
Aether sighed. Getting back on his feet, but when he prepared to take a step forward, he fell to the ground. Looking back, he saw Kade on the ground.
"Oh, good, I thought I was going to have to find them."
Aether hovered over the boy, leaning forward to inspect him; he was sleeping... "Seriously?" Aether cleared his throat, looking around, before he slapped the boy awake.
Kade staggered, waking up with heavy breaths.
He patted his body, as if not understanding how he was alive. So to get him in the right mind, Aether kicked him into the ground.
"Yes your alive, well, not really. We’re in the Tides, Kade, so focus."
Kade’s eyes widened before he shook his head, trying to get himself to focus... "I know... just that it doesn’t feel real to be here..."
Aether rolled his eyes. "You will get used to it. This is my second time, heck, when I got here I didn’t react so dumbfounded as you did, and I had no idea a place like this existed, since I got killed right away after I entered this world."
Kade scoffed. "You know you can’t compare yourself to others all the time, you aren’t normal, get that."
Aether looked around, then he stopped Lucien, who was also still asleep. "Do I wake him up, or should I?"
Kade sighed, getting up on his feet. "I’ll do it." Then he walked over to the magician, shaking him slowly, but to no avail; he wouldn’t wake up. "Do you think he really died?" Kade looked back at Aether, slightly frightened, thinking his friend had really died.
"Bullshit," Aether said, walking over and kicking the magician right in the face. Waking the boy up, but before he had another reaction as he had with Kade, he put his hands on Lucien’s shoulders. "Calm down, we’re in the Tides, you haven’t died just yet-"
"I know, I’m not a dumbass?" Lucien calmly said, which made Aether freeze, dumbfounded... of course, the magician wasn’t going to react just like Kade had done. How could he not predict that?
Lucien got back on his feet, wiping the dirt from his face that had come from Aether’s kick.
"Do you know your way around?" He calmly asked, as if he had expected Aether to have been here before... which was true; he had, but come on, why would he think of that?
"I... do. I’ve spent some good months in this place."
Lucien smiled. "Alright, then you should know the way to the City, so let’s go, that way we can beat Denial and get the heck out of this place."
Both Aether and Kade looked at the magician, dumbfounded, though their reasons were completely different.
"How do you know about all of this?"
"What the heck are you talking about?"
Two different reactions.
For Aether, he had no idea how the boy knew about all this stuff, especially about the fact that Denial stood at the top of the trial, and even more, how the heck did he know about the trial in the first place?
And Kade, a poor boy from Veyr, of course, had no idea what the heck he was talking about. The boy probably only knew that the Tides were, not what was inside or how to get out. After all, to get that information, you have to meet someone who has been inside and got out... and while he had met someone with that information, Aether himself, he had never told Kade his experiences, but neither had he told Lucien, so how the heck did he know?
The magician chuckled. "My parents have been in the Tides before, and by luck, they were able to get through Denial and get back up to earth, and they told me a lot of things about this place, though something tells me you know more.
Also, while normally I would have been scared, since I know how hard Denial is to beat, with Aether, we should have no problem." The last part was intended for Kade.
Aether scoffed. They liked that the magician was smart, after all, having smart people with you was better than having people who couldn’t think for themselves, but when he acted like this, it annoyed him, because he was supposed to be the one who realized things by putting things together. And if he had to say, Kade had probably already figured out Eden, or most likely had an idea of it.
But he was going to test him.
"Why does my presence suddenly change everything?"
Lucien tilted his head. "Because of your powers... I mean, in the time we traveled together, you had no trouble at night, even when we couldn’t see anything, and while before I would have just put it on instinct or just experience, ever since learning you aren’t from this world, I figured you had some sort of ability. Which is also how you beat Denial the first time. Right?"
The magician smirked.
Aether looked at him for a good minute before sighing. "Yes."
The magician chuckled. "Then let’s get out of here."
...
...
...
"No."
Both Lucien and Kade froze in place, staring at Aether with nothing but confusion. Was he trying to say that they weren’t going to be leaving this place? But why, what reason did he have?
Aether quickly realized how his response might have been interpreted, quickly raising his arms in defense. "Well, not really, no, I can help you two get out of this place, but after... I’m going back here."
Kade’s eyes widened in shock. "But why? Why do you want to stay in the Tides?"
Aether sighed. He had not wanted to tell them the truth, but he was going to have to do so. He could lie, but he really didn’t think that would lead to anything good.
"The City... It’s under attack, it’s in a war with the monsters inside this place... I have friends in this wicked place... some inside the city... and I plan to protect it."
Kade and Lucien looked at each other, then nodded. "Then we’ll stay with you."
This is exactly why he had not wanted to say the truth; with them staying, they will be in danger, and not like they had been before, the monsters in this place were worse than anything they had ever seen, and plus, dying here meant death; there was no safety net after this. You were gone.
... He knew they were strong; he knew he had said they were going to fight together and protect each other, but were they really ready for whatever the Tides had planned for them?
...Was he ready for it?
"Are you sure... I mean, Kade, you’re risking your life. If you died here, before giving the money you made to your family, everything you have done will go to waste, nothing will change for your family, they would just lack another member, you would be the same as your brother... I get that you’re trying to protect me, but... think of your family."
Kade opened his mouth to say something, but it just stayed open, not sure what to say; after all, he hadn’t thought about it like this before.
"And Lucien, you said you took the fault for the deaths of your people, that you will take all the guilt and live with it, are you really going to risk your life just because I want to risk mine? It doesn’t make sense. You have to live and carry the guilt, that’s what you said you wanted to do, so why?"
...
Lucien chuckled. "Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical, everything you are saying. You also have a goal, don’t you? You did everything to get home, you’ve spent months trying to make an ending to the world, just so you could get home, and now you’re risking everything just to save your friends’ lives? You said it to me, am I really going to risk my life, my goal for you, well, are you going to do the same for them?"
...
"It’s not the same thing," Aether said after a long pause.
"Why?" Lucien quickly said,"
Aether sighed. "Because I’m not risking my goal, it’s part of my goal, taking part in this war. It’s connected to the ending I wish to make. So I have to stay, you don’t."
...
"I wish to kill the Demon of Dread."
