Chapter 342: Calming the Storm (1/2)

”What are you planning to do Aiden?” As they left the inn, Drake was the first to speak up and ask the clearly troubled and angry boy.

Hearing the pretty obvious question with the visible concern intermixed into his friend's voice, Aiden halted his steps and let out a heavier sigh. He reached for his temple, rubbed it as he spoke after a few seconds of silent contemplation.

”I'm not sure about what you two want to do, but I for myself will go and rescue him.”

Surprisingly, even though he was clearly mad, his tone wasn't reflecting his emotions. It had an eerie quality of calmness to it. It was… unnatural to say the least, causing a shiver to run through both sibling's bodies as they heard it.

”Listen, Aiden…” Drake spoke up, forcing a smile to stretch across his face overcoming the fear that started to settle into his heart. ”I know you want to charge in headfirst and rescue him. Believe me, I…” He heard a cough coming from his side. Looking at her, he almost jumped, her sister was staring at her with a fierce, dissatisfied expression. ” Sorry, WE both understand what you feel. Don't forget, we also have one of our missing brothers trapped there. For much, much longer than your friend, Cole has.”

His words, however, didn't seem to manage to calm Aiden's heart. He clenched his fists as he responded with a bit more coldness than before.

”What about it? What are you implying?”

”What my stupid brother was trying to say…” Seeing that the conversation was going towards a direction neither of them wanted, Scarlet decided to jump in. She stepped closer and placed her right hand over Aiden's right shoulder.

An uncanny, compassionate smile appeared on her face, as she explained.

”What he was trying to say, is that we are also just as agitated to go there as you are. Trust me, the faster I could see Little Dan and rescue him from that horrible place I wouldn't hesitate. However, we can't rush in without thinking through our options and devising a suitable plan. You can't just rush in and kill hundreds, or thousands of others unrelated to the plots of a few devilish individuals. We need a plan.”

Clenching his fists tightly, Aiden closed his eyes as he took in a large gasp of air. They were obviously right, he shouldn't always act on his emotions. Even Master made this point several times during their training, but still… How could he leave someone close to him to suffer? If he has the power, why can't he act? Why does he need to care about these people?

He took a few moments to keep all the air and with it, all of his frustrations inside. He let them mix together, creating a chaotic mess as he slowly began to exhale, eject all of them out. With the used-up air, he exhaled all the troubling emotions, all the worries he had.

As all the useless negativity left his body, serenity once again entered his heart. His troubled, trembling closed eyelids, turned smooth, his frown eased up, a small smile curved at the edges of his lips. His tight hold over his balled-up fists, relaxed. At the same time, the chaotic, invisible aura that swirled around him, the agitated essences lingering in the air also calmed down and receded back into his body.

Once again, Aiden regained his calm and cool. He understood that although he was worried about his friend, he shouldn't act like a spoiled child, but should act more responsibly.

Scarlet, and even though he would never admit it, Drake as well was right. They needed to think the situation through and devise a plan. They should also let the ones closest to them know.

Eventually, Aiden opened his eyes. The madness was cleared, he looked back at the smiling Scarlet matching it with his own smile, before turning towards Drake and nodding at him as well.

”You are right. We need to think this through. Let's go to the Guild Hall first and ask if they know anything.” He said, turning around and ready to depart. Before he could do so, Drake pulled on his arm, forcing him to turn back.

”Wait! Who would you even ask there? Why would they know anything about one little Rank 1 Adventurer? Even if they comply, which I highly doubt, they could at most, tell the last quest he took.” He asked. Although he didn't mean to mock or look down on anybody, the way he phrased his question was easily misunderstood.

His sister, Scarlet, could feel the derogatory tone from his brother's inquiry. With a frown, she lightly punched his side.