Chapter 53 - Facing the Nightmare (Part 1) (1/2)
Looking through the forest that was only illuminated by the serene rays of the two moons resting atop the clear night sky, a female figure could be seen, as she was making her way through the dense foliage.
The only sounds were the snarls and hoots of the various predators that were out on their nightly escapades in the distance. The figure, Lily, was walking towards the flickering light she saw when she 'arrived' at this place.
While she didn't know where she exactly was, she had this feeling that at some point in her life, she was once here. She didn't know it, she just felt it. When she first looked around, although she couldn't recognize the place, her heart started aching as if a long-forgotten needle pierced an already sutured scar.
Still, as she wasn't a little kid anymore, she didn't crumble and she wasn't crying on the ground as she would have a few years ago, but calmly, relying on the methods she learned from her dear brother, Aiden, she looked around to examine and analyze her surroundings. One of the first things he taught her was to always have a clear head when you are at unknown locations and check your surroundings. 'Find your bearings, and use everything to your advantage.' He used to say. It was thanks to that she noticed the light source in the first place.
With nothing else to go on, she decided to go and investigate it. She wasn't sure what this test was about, but she understood that this place must have some relevance to her past, present, or maybe even her future.
'As long as I have my brother, nothing can hurt me. I can face whatever challenge that woman throws at me!' she exclaimed inwardly.
As she was getting closer, the outskirts of a village emerged on the horizon. A village that she wasn't that caused Lily to remember back to her old home. These were unpleasant memories, stuff that was best left forgotten. This was the elven village where she had to live on the outskirts alone, with her mother.
A small tear formed in the corner of her eyes, and with her fists balled, she continued her steps. She will not falter, she will push on. She now had someone to rely on...
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'My previous life? What do you mean?' asked Aiden, confused.
[It is something that you have forgotten. You had some faint memory of it when you arrived, however because of you using the power provided by the Almighty Ioris, it brought a backlash on your soul and as a result, these memories were locked away on the deep recesses of your subconscious. This situation could actually be a blessing in disguise. It could help you trigger you to recover more and regain some more important details.]
'Important details? Like what for example?' Asked Aiden.
Enya however didn't elaborate on this any further.
[Aiden instead of sitting around all morning, wake up and start gathering information. You have a trial to complete as well as a quest to complete. You don't have time to waste.]
��Sure, just change the topic when it is no longer convenient for you… So typical!' He grumbled. However, he still followed her advice and stood up while he also opened up his eyes.
Giving it a once-over, his eyes rested on the picture one last time, then he made his way towards the closed white wooden door, that separated this small den from the rest of the household. As he had no idea what to expect, he was ready to jump into combat in a moments' notice and was also using his [Dark Sense] to its maximum efficiency.
Unfortunately, the skill couldn't penetrate the closed door for some reason, so unless he himself experienced the 'outside world', he wouldn't get additional information.
Pushing down the handle and opening the door, a large living room greeted him. There was a large couch placed next to the eastern wall and a table in front of it in the middle. On the other side, there were various electronics that Aiden wasn't familiar with. One of them even showed pictures, scenes of people interacting, and fighting.
The middle-aged man that he saw on the photo was slumped on the couch and was currently leisurely watching the screen. He either didn't notice Aiden leaving his room, or he didn't care about it in the slightest.
Not sure how to handle this situation, Aiden was puzzled. Looking at the lazy bum on the couch, he felt that he knew this man. Connecting the clues from Enya and the picture, Aiden took a big leap and while internally screaming in trepidation, tried to speak as calmly as he could.
”F-father?”
The man turned his head towards Aiden, but after a few moments, his focus went back to the screen in front of him. He still hasn't said a word, nor did he greet the boy.