King Of Limbo



Shortly after a decision was made by the eccentric aethelian elder, much to Lufair's displeasure, a group of aethelians assembled outside the grand palace, ready to escort the man.

Lufair and Solair stood side by side, the latter wearing a warm hard to read smile whilst the former didn't try to hide his irritation towards the matter.

"This is a mistake," Lufair mumbled as his brows arched into a deep frown. In contrast, Solair's smile grew wider as she replied, "mistakes are a part of growth my dear brother, what is it that truly has you concerned?"

Hearing Solair's somewhat mocking tone, Lufair clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked away, waving off the aethelians that were about to follow him, "Leave me!"

Solair watched his figure vanish into the palace and just sighed while shaking her head. At that moment, Sharla who had also observed this approached Solair and gave a subtle bow, "I'm sorry, I didn't think my words would cause Sire Lufair to be displeased."

Her words were received with a smile as Solair shook her head, "Don't fret about it, my brother holds a special hate for Kolieans in general. That aside, I'm quite curious about this Aren or Aron, tell me about him."

Although Solair asked in a seemingly kind tone, one would feel there was no room to refuse. Despite her calm, innocent and elegant appearance, Solair was ever in thought, scheming and planning in her on way.

On the surface, she was simply welcoming a being who helped her fellow aethelians escape tragedy in Pesia, but in reality, she had a far deeper purpose. 

Sharla was hesitant to speak, not because she doubted or suspected Solair, but because the moment Solair asked to hear more about him, her mind flashed with some of the great displays she had witnessed Aron perform.

Unlike the aethelians in Limbo, Sharla knew not only how to use mana to attack, but was also skilled in the use of weaponry. But as for these native aethelians, they had no such means or at least in large quantity.

Despite having an immense aptitude in mana manipulation, the foundation of becoming a powerful mage, most aethelians only knew basic techniques. 

As for physical weaponry, aside from her own bow, Sharla was yet to see any herself. She had of course questioned this lack of protection or offensive power, but was simply told they are safe and not to worry.

But now, how could she not worry when the person they were inviting was an extremely skilled and powerful combatant?

Solair took notice of Sharla's hesitation and urged her in a soft tone, "You don't need to worry, I simply want to know what kind of person he is, it will be easier for me to represent our people in that way."

Her reason carried logic in Sharla's mind, if Solair had a better understanding of Aron, perhaps a confrontation could be avoided. A thinking about it for a moment, she nodded, "sure."

This brought a smile to Solair's face as she gestured her to follow, "then let's you and I go speak at my private spring, it will be quite some time before they come back."

Sharla didn't immediately agree to this and looked toward Mirai, who had been silent this entire time, before asking, "aren't you coming?"

Mirai's hollow gaze which was focused on the departing party, despite her lack of sight, was soon directed at Sharla and Solair as she bowed and shook her head, "no thank you, I'll be going to rest. If you'll excuse me."

Her rejection made Sharla a concerned and dejected expression, "Mirai I-," but before she could try to convince her otherwise, Solair tapped Sharla's shoulder and interrupted, "perhaps it's best you leave her to her thoughts, she'll understand that your intentions are good, it should be natural considering how close you two are."

Solair's words eased the worry Sharla was feeling and she accepted to go. At the same time, Lufair was in a medium sized and isolated room, it lacked a lot furniture one would be accustomed to seeing but did contain a large circular bed of sorts, formed naturally against the wall.

His attention though was focused toward the window, which he approached and spoke, "Trutet."

Following his words, a soft breeze swept through the window as a figure slowly appeared out of the nothingness. It was a slender male, garmented in a tight green attire, with only his hazel eyes and long dark hair visible. 

He descended from the window and bowed toward Lufair, "You called sire?"

The frown Lufair had didn't fade as he clasped his hands behind his back and spoke with an air of authority. "Yes, I need you to deliver a message for me."

…

Meanwhile, Aron and his group reached a small stream in the outer parts of the aethelian territory. Unlike what they had seen so far in Limbo, the grass surrounding it was healthy and pristine, whereas the water was a welcoming crystal blue.

The first person to react to this was Jin, who looked around with a suspicious expression on his face, "did we take a wrong turn? Or am I hallucinating?"

Jagu remained cautious despite the serene looking sight in front of him, "it could be a trap to lure prey, many beasts settle near the banks of water sources after all."

Hearing this, Jin couldn't help but sigh, "even the nice-looking things in this world mean death, I just can't get a break."

Aron glanced around for a moment before shaking his head, "there's no danger, we can settle here for the time being," he revealed as he began pacing around this strange isolated place they found. 

'It's not strange seeing a healthy ecosystem in Limbo, what is strange is said system not being occupied due to it's rarity.' Aron thought as he crouched down near the water and felt it's texture before drinking from it. 

He could find nothing wrong with area, not even the lingering scent of a foreign being or beast, that was what he truly found strange, although for now he kept his concerns to himself.

"The water is also safe, but stay alert," he warned before walked away from the stream and settling near a tree in silence.

Not liking the relaxing atmosphere, Jagu chose to separate himself from the place, "I'm going to hunt for a meal…" he declared whilst walking away. Jin stood in thought for a moment and decided to tag along, "Wait for me big guy, you'll need some help."

The duo's voices became fainter and fainter until they could no longer be heard, it was then that Rose finally spoke. "I'll take this opportunity to finally cleanse my body, I'll be a bit further down the stream if you require me or wish to do the same."

Without saying much more, Rose strutted off, leaving Arias leaning against the tree, and Evanora lying in the grass, moving her limbs freely like a child.

"Evanora likes soft grass, look, it's copying evanora," She urged Aron as her figure created a visible change in the grass. 

Aron said nothing and stretched out his had to feel the grass, even it felt foreign to this land, causing him to further ponder this strange setting. 'Maybe I'm just overthinking it.'

Remembering his bad habit or overanalyzing everything, Aron took a deep breath and looked over his own body, before deciding to cleanse it as well. "Come on Evanora, you especially need to clean yourself."

Evanora stood up from the grass and so the many dirty patches on her body and stains on her clothing, but she didn't seem bothered, asking, "Why? The dirt always comes back."

Not wanting to explain the importance of hygiene even in Limbo, Aron walked off and Evanora followed, continuing to provide what she felt was a compelling argument as to why bathing was pointless.

Seeing their two figures appear near the bank of the stream, Rose who had been relaxing frowned and sighed, especially towards Evanora. "Why must you always disturb my peace?"

Aron didn't answer and just removed his clothes before entering the water, washing himself off some distance away from Rose. Evanora on the other hand copied Aron's lead but rather than washing herself, her nude figure just floated in the water in a slow circular motion.

Ignoring Rose's earlier question, Aron asked, "Do you feel anything strange about this place? Even its water lacks any fish."

Rose looked around and shook her head, "I'd be lying if I said this was my first time encountering such a thing, but never before have I bothered to wonder as to how such a thing forms. I find it amazing that even you don't know, now I'm also curious," she replied while raising her brow.

"Then when was the first time you encountered such a thing? Your time in Limbo? Before Pesia?" Aron paused and cast a questioning glance at Rose. She always tactful in dodging questions relating to her time before Galos Academy, but Aron wasn't going to stop digging.

A short silence followed as Rose nodded in agreement, "Yes, to be precise, the place of my birth."