Chapter 56: Stormbreeze

Aries was a little surprised when he heard Gust announced who was the first challenger for that day.

Galen Windchaser.

The crowd jeered, called him a coward, and mocked him to disappear like the last time but the masked warrior was unaffected and announced to the arena that he wanted Aries Del Luna to face him again.

Gust accepted that request and Aries were called to the platform.

"Start the fight!" the house leader bellowed and the arena filled once more with cheers and jeers. Aries ignored the people screaming that they should both leave the platform and give way for Jodien and other fighters.

"Are you ready to die?" Aries raised both his hands and called his crimson blades.

"Are you ready to remember?" Galen rushed towards Aries without unsheathing his curved blades. His movements were faster than yesterday.

When Aries swung his dual swords, the masked warrior evaded both blades and grabbed Aries in both his wrists.

"I will help you remember," Galen leaned closer and Aries saw the glowing green eyes that were seriously gazing at him. "Come with me."

Aries felt his feet leaving the ground. The masked warrior lifted him up without exerting much effort and before he could struggle, he had been pulled out of the arena and into a room that was unfamiliar to him.

Aries and Galen rolled on the carpeted floor as if a strong wind had shoved them in that place. It was only for a fleeting moment but his arms ached with the pressure. His vision blurred with a few flashes of hazy memories and with the dizzying speed of that bizarre trip.

"Princess, why did you have to tag along?" Galen let go of Aries and lay on the floor with his arms stretched sideward. He was catching his breath. "It would have never been this tiring."

Aries noticed only then that a hand was tightly gripping his right leg. It was truly Princess Pieffer. She was also lying on the floor with her eyes closed.

"Why did you kidnap Aries?" she asked back without lifting her eyelids.

"Princess, I think you can let go," Aries was also too weak to raise his back from the ground.

"No," the princess tightened her grip on his leg. "What if that man takes you somewhere else?"

"He is already in my house. Where else can I take him?" the masked man answered, still catching his breath.

"Why did you take me here?" Aries was trying to sit up, but his body was still shaky.

"You didn't remember anything?" the masked man forced himself to sit up and leaned on the nearby bed.

Aries looked around the room and his brain throbbed more painfully as foggy memories flashed again before his eyes.

"Where is this place?" he strained himself up and Princess Pieffer quickly came to his side and gave him assistance.

"I already told you. This is my house. We are near the southern border of the House of Twins," the masked man leaned closer to Aries before asking, "You still can't remember anything?"

"Who are you?" Aries squinted. He wanted to see more clearly the green eyes behind the mask.

Galen sighed with disappointment and removed the mask from his face.

Princess Pieffer gasped, "You!"

"Yes," Galen leaned his head on the bed. "I am the house leader's twin brother. My name is Gale Stormbreeze."

No one could deny that claim. He looked exactly like Gust Stormbreeze. As Aries gazed longer at those glowing green eyes, those foggy memories were slowly becoming clearer but his mind was getting weaker. He could no longer keep his eyes open.

"Aries! What's wrong?" Gale caught him before his face hit the floor and everything was once again swallowed by darkness.

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People whose bodies were covered in dark smoke chased Aries. Their fuming eyes reflected an intense desire to kill. Aries thought that his resolve to slaughter was unshakable but when he came across those corrupted souls, he had been forced to step back and run away.

He should not have been reckless and jumped off that high wall. He was only ten years old and thought he could already save the most vulnerable borders of Serestral. When he passed through the crumbling barrier of his hometown, he was loaded with so much confidence but realized later on that he greatly lacked fighting skills.

He should be the hunter but ended up being hunted. He was expecting the corrupted souls had scattered in that vast desert outside Serestral and he could take them one by one. It never crossed his mind that they already built villages and could fight him in groups. Their coordination had taken him by surprise and even the sandstorm seemed to be helping them out.

He had been running for hours and the walls of Serestral were still nowhere to be seen. The sandstorm was making it more difficult for him. His legs were getting tired, but he could not stop or even slow down. The corrupted souls, with and without vessels, were right behind him and some were throwing sharp projectiles at him. Fortunately for Aries, even though he was greatly lacking in fighting skills, his ability to dodge was remarkable. And that was where the sandstorm had been useful to him. But he had to find the walls and climbed back to Serestral before his knees gave in.

After what seemed to be an eternity of running, Aries finally stepped into an area where the sandstorm was not blinding his vision. After another few hours of running, he had seen the walls of Serestral. He glanced behind him and saw that the corrupted souls were no longer chasing him.

He quickly climbed back to Serestral and landed on a lush forest. The shades of the trees had given him comfort from the scorching sun. Entering that vast dessert was like stepping into Hell. He leaned his hand on a tree while catching his breath. He realized only then how exhausted his body had become. His knees were terribly shaking and, after a minute or two, could no longer carry his weight. He slumped on the grass-covered ground and he had to rest his back on the tree to prevent his body from collapsing completely on the ground.

He closed his eyes to get a few minutes of rest but the sound of flowing water suddenly made him feel so thirsty. He had to drink. Judging by the sound, it was not far from his location. He tried to get up but could not. There was no better choice for him but to crawl towards the water.

Usually, after resting for a few minutes, his body would already recover. He was still young. He should be swiftly recuperating. But after that trip outside Serestral, he was extremely tired, and instead of getting better, he felt his body worsening. He could barely pull himself along the ground. But at least he could feel the sound of the flowing water getting nearer. Though at a snail's pace, he was making progress. He would eventually get there if his consciousness hold out for a few more minutes.

He kept telling himself to stay awake. He still had to save Serestral. Dying was not an option for him. Water might make him feel a little better. He had to get there. But his vision was getting blurry, his body was becoming numb.

He repeatedly chanted to himself that he could not die, but it seemed that death was too eager to take his life. Darkness had swallowed him and he could no longer feel anything. The only sense left to him was hearing. The sound of flowing water was so near yet he failed to reach it. Then there were voices of children screaming. He only heard it at that moment.

"Gale!!! Forget the fruits! The fish will get away!!!"

"Gust!!! There is a child in here! I think he is dying! What should we do?"

"What?" Aries heard water splashing then there were footsteps approaching his direction. "He needs to be treated. Let's take him to our hideout!"

Aries had heard a strong wind blowing before everything around him had fallen silent.

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"Why is he not waking up?"

"Just wait. It's only been a day. Can't you see how much his body had improved? The color of his skin and his breathing returned to normal. His body is no longer stiff. That book helped us a lot. Don't worry. He will be fine."

Aries had been awakened by the voices of two children talking. Those were the same voices he heard before completely losing his consciousness.

He slowly opened his heavy eyelids and saw that he was inside a hut. He was lying on a bed that was good enough for two people. From his location, he could already see the entirety of that tiny house. There was only a tiny kitchen, a small spot for a dining table, and a sleeping area.

The two children were sitting around the dining table and too absorbed in talking to one another that they only noticed Aries regaining consciousness when he sat up and tried to move out of the bed.

They rushed to the bed and stopped him from moving.

"Stay still. You cannot fully recover if you keep moving around. Don't worry. This is a safe place. You can rest here for as long as you like."

"My twin brother is telling the truth. No one will bother you in this place aside from the two of us."

Aries noticed only then that he was looking at two children with exactly the same face and body built. They had the same jade green eyes. Their black hair had a few lime green strands on it. Both were long and messily ponytailed. The only difference Aries could notice at that moment was the color of their baggy clothes. One was dressed in blue while the other wore brown clothes.

"Hi, I'm Gale," the one in blue shirt introduced himself then pointed at the one in brown clothes, "This is my twin brother, Gust."

"Gust…" Aries repeated the name and searched his brain. The name was familiar to him. He had heard it somewhere. "Ah!" he finally remembered. "Gust Stormbreeze?"

"And you are Aries Del Luna," the child in brown clothes beamed at him. "So, you do know who we are. Is that why we found you at that state?" Curiosity and worry were mixing in his eyes when he asked Aries, "Did you fight corrupted souls?"

"Three years," Aries answered after a few seconds of silence. "That is how long I am fighting those wicked souls."

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