King Of Limbo

With the attacks done, the only Aethelians left were those in the tents who had now been alerted of something odd happening.

Just like any other Aethelian their hearing was was incredibly good so even although no warnings were given they could still hear the odd and gruesome sounds that had come from outside, prompting them to check.

Before they could leave the tent however… "don't move." Evanora's voice resounded from outside and almost instantly semi transparent bluish chains appeared seemingly out of thin air and bound around the bodies of the five Aethelians present.

They couldn't understand what was going on until Aron, Evanora and Lady Rose's figures walked through the entrance and met their gazes. Juliet had remained outside incase they were some Aethelians inside the ruins who could come out and surprise them.

"Who are you people!?" The first to speak among the Aethelians was a female who stood out even among them, not because of her looks but her attire which seemed to represent her higher standing in whatever heirachy they had set.

All five wore attires that didn't look like those of combatants, judging from the many books, scrolls and strange artifacts present on the tables within the tent Aron could guess they were scholars or at least something similar.

"You're in no position to ask questions, though I do have quite a few for you all. Firstly, tell me about this ruin."Lady Rose asked rather calmly as she began walking around the tent looking over what was present.

She had gained the attention of all five because at first glance Aron and Evanora looked more like hired thugs to them. Lady Rose however had an air of intellect around her, the fact she spoke so fluently in their native tongue was testament to this.

"It seems this will take quite a while so we might as well call the others over to rest in the tents." Aron quickly subtracted himself from the equation after seeing it would take a good amount of time to gain information.

The other four didn't look all that strong willed and would likely be the those of the majority of the information they gained whereas the woman who asked their identity didn't look the least bit intimidated. Usually if an opponent had such confidence even in a helpless situation then they were either foolish or had the means to control the overall outcome, such matters were better left between intellectuals.

…

Noon soon fell and the others had been brought to the camp as well.

Lucas and the others took turns being on lookout with the exception of Sharla and Mirai who were allowed to rest indefinitely in one of the tents, although the former chose to stay awake and look after Mirai.

Juliet remained near the entrance of the ruin just in case of anything whereas Aron and Evanora had occupied the third tent where he allowed her to sleep.

As for Lady Rose… she continued to be in the first tent speaking to the captives regarding the ruin. Aron did consider the chance of her not telling him everything she learned but it was something he couldn't change at the moment.

*sigh*

'Why must it all be so unnecessarily complicated.' He thought before choosing to use the opportunity to go over the journal he had taken from the bunker.

He first patted the dust off it's old brownish cover and saw the initials "J.J" at the bottom left corner of the front, he took a mental note of this before opening it.

[….Ever since they came back from Limbo they seemed different, I could hardly see them as the friends I had prior. The journey must have taken quite the mental toll on them, they brought back a plethora of information but I keep asking myself… was it worth it?]

After reading the intro, Aron began reading over some entries as they only spoke off the author's thoughts regarding his friends and their behavior becoming all the more frantic in the coming days, something he didn't really consider useful information but still took some note of. The language it was written it was thankfully olden Pesian leaving no trouble for him.

He paused mid-journal as he found a interesting entry…

[ Ever since we returned to our city a string of murders had began to surface… rather than be praised for our discoveries that could bring us into a new age we are being suspected. I spoke to the others about this but they don't seem to care… lately all they care for are worldly matters and even neglect research. Perhaps it's all in my end… they could use a break after all that. ]

Aron began to piece together this tale he was reading and already developed some theories regarding what was happening but chose to read on before settling on anything. He only stopped some pages later and could see the author's writing style changed, from elegant and neat to frantic and rushed.

[ We were forced to leave! After all we've done for those ingrates! They accused us of bringing back malevolent spirits, they still refuse to abandon such simple minded beliefs. Alas the majority of people are followers so we're helpless to argue, the others looked even more upset than me as they lost far more… Jekir was left by his lover whereas young Amol got disowned. I fear for his mental health because he started to speak to himself late at night, hosting genuine arguments saying "it's all your fault, leave me alone, give me back my life." ]

Aron furrowed his brows the longer he read and discovered but the more clarity he gained. He once again began skipping over many irrelevant chapters regarding the author's journey after he got banished. It portrayed his rise along with his friends using the knowledge they gained to build a small yet powerful organization. However it was their internal conflicts that held Aron's interest and not their feats.

[ Madness, this is madness. The others have lost their way and still don't see it! We have established our own safe haven, our paradise but they wish to conquer the world. When I ask why? They say because it's their right as the strong and that everything will be fine, it's illogical and makes no sense but they won't change their minds… I'm helpless to stop them. ]

From here Aron read brief entries regarding the moral struggle the author had because of his friends as they began to sweep the continent and take over powers. However it was the very last entry that caught his eye, it's writing was the most frantic and dirty.

[ An assassination was attempted on my and Amol's life, a brutal stab to the heart yet he lived. I was nearing unconscious but I could clearly see a creature unlike anything I've seen before come out from his body to slaughter the attacker. After which it returned to his body and healed him instantly… I could only pretend to be unconscious but I'm sure now, it all makes sense, my friends must have been infected by a sort of parasite in Limbo. ]

At this moment Aron couldn't help but glance at Evanora oddly. 'Is she just a vessel as well? Being strung along by the creature's will?' He thought but found her actions didn't align with such a case.

If it had been then like the author's friends she'd have had at least some sort of goal and impact on Evanora's mentality but in her case it seemed to just be residing there as if dormant.

This made him wonder, was it really worth keeping such an unknown alive? For now he chose to abandon this train of thought, he already had the means to end her life should she show major changes in her simple behavior.

After he was done reading the journal, he set it ablaze and watched it burn right in his hands. It didn't give him the information he had hoped for but he now had a better understanding regarding one of his weapons.

At the very least it showed their emotions weren't completely taken over, otherwise the author who was free from parasite control wouldn't have been allowed to leave let alone left to keep an equal position with his friends, perhaps the key was building importance to the possessed individual.

…

Meanwhile inside the main tent, Lady Rose stood in front of the only one Aethelian now. The laid on the ground like dried up husks without any mana yet she still looked as calm as before, her hand elegantly putting on her glove on her right hand.

"Now only you're left, do you still think I don't have the capacity to end your miserable life?"

The remaining Aethelian looked defeated, sweat running down her forehead and her hands trembling, it was as if she had just witnessed something utterly horrific for the first time. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything so just promise to give me a proper end afterward." She muttered rather helplessly with acceptance of death.

"Will do, now enlighten me."