Due to his shock, it was only after a few moments did Klaus realize that one of the people standing near Toran Fiore was a person who was supposed to be dead.
Aeon Morgan?!
Aeon being alive invoked lots of questions in Klaus' mind, but he was more concerned about the principal at the moment.
The sight of the Principal, Toran Fiore, sipping water had now become something so foreign to Klaus that he didn't know how to react. It had been months since he last saw the person move his fingers, let alone drink water. And it just happened so… suddenly.
He didn't know what to say or do.
He just stood there, frozen in place.
Solare Samo was equally surprised, but he was not too attached to the principal that's why he wasn't as shocked as Klaus was. He simply said, "You've recovered."
Toran Fiore was obviously pretty weak at the moment. He hadn't eaten anything for a long, long time and was quite famished. He didn't respond to Solare's words. He simply finished drinking, placed the cup down, and beckoned Suri to help him lay back down again. And just like that, he went back to sleep.
The room was dead silent for a few moments.
It was Aeon who woke everyone up from their stupor. "Well, that went great!"
In front of everybody, Suri sighed. No one knew though if it was out of relief or helplessness. Or maybe both? He shook his head then left the clinic. With an exhausted look, he stood beside the also shocked Korona, who was now standing near the entrance, for comfort.
Klaus finally recovered. He then turned towards Aeon and spoke in a hushed tone, "Aeon Morgan, did you and Suri Samo do something to the principal?"
Aeon was still smiling, quite pleased about his achievement when he heard Klaus talk to him. Indeed, they had done something about it. And it worked! He turned towards the Klaus and the others.
"We simply pulled out the thin strand of lightning stuck on the principal's forehead. That's all," Aeon explained while pointing at the center of his own forehead.
There was a thin strand of lightning stuck on the principal's forehead?
Klaus and Solare looked at each other, both confused. They hadn't seen such a thing.
Aeon saw the confusion on the people's faces. It was obvious that they hadn't noticed such a thing. And so, he began to explain again. "At first I thought I was imagining it. But after using my Tenro it became a bit clearer. There were minuscule electric sparks dancing on the surface of the principal's forehead."
Feeling that there was quite a lot more to talk about, Klaus gestured for them to move back in order to avoid disturbing the principal's sleep. They stopped beside Suri and Korona and continued their conversation.
"That shouldn't be possible. We examined his forehead to check for any wounds. We even used lenses to confirm that there weren't any that were too small to see, but we didn't see the sparks that you described," Klaus explained with a confused look.
Aeon shrugged. He didn't know how it appeared. But he did see it.
"Well, we only checked eight months ago. Maybe it didn't exist then," Klaus said making Aeon nod in enlightenment. "But how did you extract this strand of lightning?"
Hearing the question, Aeon beamed with pride. He then said confidently, "I've already awakened to my element. It's lightning! And I used mine to attract that tiny strand. It was challenging though because we had to do it really slowly. The principal's brain acted up when we did it a bit too fast."
Klaus' eyebrows shot up. He was surprised that Aeon, as someone who was way past the age of awakening, was still able to awaken to an element. But he was more surprised that he had been able to extract electricity non-instantaneously. Electricity naturally traveled fast. To slow it down forcefully, one needed to have good control. How was Aeon able to do it? Did someone train him? Klaus didn't know.
He sighed with relief then bowed at Aeon to show his gratitude. "I sincerely thank you for your help. And I am glad that you have safely returned."
Klaus turned towards Suri and thanked him as well, "I also appreciate your help, Mr. Suri."
Suri waved his hand with a crooked smile, "I simply watched the monitor. Aeon did the hard work."
Solare placed a hand on Aeon's shoulder to show his appreciation.
At that moment, the Emperor's guards who disappeared earlier suddenly came running back in. They then whispered something to the Emperor, invoking a surprised reaction from him.
"I need to leave," the Emperor informed everyone. "There are some issues that I need to attend to in the capital."
Solare then asked, "What about the other witness, General Melbark's son?"
The Emperor nodded and replied, "Please have him write the report. You can have it sent directly to me."
One of the armored guards pulled something out of the bag on his waist and handed it over to Solare.
It was the Emperor's personal stamp.
The Emperor gave everyone a smile. "Thank you, for everything. And I congratulate you for your principal's recovery."
Klaus and Solare bowed, acknowledging the Emperor's words. This was so unexpected that the Emperor couldn't help being shocked. Before, the two did everything they could to avoid bowing. Seeing the two, he chuckled.
"Aeon, let's go. Time to say goodbye to your friends," Lucian said.
Aeon knew that it was also time for him to leave. He simply nodded and went straight towards Suri and Korona to say his farewell.
"I'll probably just get a few things from our house and say hello to my old friends then I'll come back here to hang out," Aeon said with a smile.
"Mn," Suri and Korona replied at the same time.
"Can you tell the others for me? That I'm still alive."
"We will."
The three hugged.
Aeon left.
Suri and Korona saw him off as he rode together with the Emperor.
Looking at their figures, the couple thought that they were forgetting something. And no matter how hard they thought, they couldn't remember what.
In the end, they just shrugged. Too many things happened. Forgetting something unimportant was normal.
….
"I told you to address me formally when in public," Lucian yelled at Aeon who was riding together with him on the same horse.
"My, bad. Slipped my mind. Sorry, old man," Aeon apologized.
Veins started popping up on Lucian's temples, and hot air seeped through his gritted teeth. "STOP CALLING ME OLD MAN, YOU BRAT!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Aeon laughed out loud as he enjoyed annoying his uncle as he did in the past.
Although they weren't blood-related, because his father and the Emperor, Lucian, knew each other for as long as they could both remember and are very close friends, Aeon treated Lucian as his uncle. He had done so long before he knew what emperors were.
The Emperor didn't mind though. However, there were rules that prevented Emperors from displaying preferential treatment. There were many things that might get misinterpreted as such, so he just treated everyone equally in public, even his best friend, Devon Morgan. So, the relationship between Aeon's father and him was known to quite a few. Most only thought that they were just comrades in arms.
"Hey, Aeon," Lucian suddenly called out.
Surprised, Aeon stopped laughing. Hearing the seriousness in the man's tone, he answered rather seriously as well, "Yes?"
For a period of time, Lucian was silent. He appeared to be gathering his own thoughts.
Then, he spoke, sadness apparent in his voice, "You know you can cry now. Your friends aren't here anymore."
Aeon stared dumbly at his uncle's back and, for a moment, was at a loss for words. But then, he guffawed and said while heavily patting the Emperor's armor, "It's fine, uncle Lucy. I was able to blow off some steam from our fight earlier."
"Aeon… I watched you grow up," Lucian started, making Aeon stop his pestering. "Even though we've been away for about four years, I know you're still the same person.
In the earliest years of your life, you were raised by a depressed father, having lost his wife. Because of that, you tried your best to be strong.
You were so young, yet you stifled every tear, just so you wouldn't have to worry your father even more.
You had yourself captured just so your father won't feel the loneliness of being separated from a loved one anymore.
We were able to witness all these. And you did great.
For all the things that you've done until now, on behalf of your father, I thank you.
So now, maybe just for once, you can let yourself be weak. You can let yourself be emotional. There's no one that would judge you here. Trust me, it will feel a lot better when you cry."
Aeon's gaze was blank. Memories started flashing through his mind. Gentle memories. And yet so sad. He wished he could just go back to the past, not go into that mountain, and save everyone from the city.
But he couldn't.
No.
Time wasn't that giving.
First, he lost his mom. Now, his dad. He had no one else left in the world that shared his blood.
He strived hard in Sera City, being a good citizen, trying to become a better mage, just so he could earn merits to buy his father's freedom if it would be possible in the future.
But all of those were gone now.
For whom should he strive for? For whom should he live?
Aeon didn't know. In fact, he didn't even know which path to take from where he stood right now.
But when he heard his uncle's words, he thought about something.
It didn't matter if you didn't know everything. You can live without knowing where life would take you and still be happy.
You didn't need to have your life planned out from start to end. It could have holes. Holes that you could fill later on.
It may show that you are weak.
But sometimes… being weak is good.
It gives you time to search for your true self.
Time to search for direction
Time to search for who to strive for.
And time to search for who to live for.
Aeon leaned onto his uncle.
"I guess I'll have to borrow your back then. Don't mind me," Aeon said with a smile.
He wept.
….