faes listened along with sky as aiden continued to narrate the past events while staying deep in thought.
.....
when aiden left the dragon kingdom after giving the throne to his brother he was thinking where to go and accidentally arrived at this cave entrance, this place was deep inside the forest separating the dragon kingdom and devil kingdom. at first aiden wanted to go in and make sure there was nothing dangerous before taking his eggs inside but even before he went in he was attacked.
aiden didn't knew how the red poison cult knew where he was but they managed to find him. aiden placed the eggs inside a barrier as he began to fight. he was already grieving his wife and when the cult attacked him again he took out all his remaining rage and grief at them. they were stronger than before but still not as strong as him. aiden took out hundreds of cult members but their leader didn't showed themself making him confused. aiden stopped as he waited for the cult leader to come forward and was soon greeted by a man walking out. he seemed to be in his thirtees but he was a peak king establishment level cultivator.
"greetings former king aiden, its an honor to see you fight but a pity you didn't go all out" the person said.
"you wont get my children no need to try and fight. we both know you are no match to me" aiden told the person ignoring the way he greeted him. greetings were main things in this world and if not greeted properly it was a serious offense. though how stronger the person is, also depends on the greetings. if a youngster is stronger than a middle aged person they can ignore the formal greetings and settle for something short and informal, as even if the other person took offense they wont be able to hurt the other party.
"oh i severely apologize for the misunderstanding, we didn't came here for your eggs and you, it was merely luck that we encountered each other. our main reason to come here is something else" the cult leader told aiden making him more alert. what could this place have that was more important than his eggs? a rare medicinal plant? elemental stones? some other treasure? aiden didn't know but he was sure whatever it was the cult sould not get it.
'no idea what they would do if they got the treasure the cave had and got stronger to attack the innocent people.' aiden thought.
"the thing you came here for is also something you are not supposed to have so leave before i kill each and every one of you" aiden told them but the leader just laughed
"the thing we came here for isn't a thing but rather a someone, you see we are quite weak and only way to get stronger is to have a strong leader that can lead every clan member towards power. the 'thing' inside the cave can help our leader get stronger and then our clan will also grow stronger and would not have to hide anymore" the leader said.
aiden was now sure about a few things, first that they were not there for his eggs and him but he still have to keep guard against them, second the person inside the cave was not supposed to get captured by the cult otherwise the future of the world would be doomed, and third the person in front of him was not the leader of red poison cult but rather another group leader.
"anyways we know that we cant fight you to get the person inside so we will just leave for now but my seniors would definitely come to get you, your eggs and that person inside the cave" the group leader said as he signaled the remaining members and left the place.
aiden though wanted to kill them didn't moved because he felt that someone was watching him from inside the cave. aiden turned towards the dark cave but he still felt shivers with just the feeling of the gaze.
'who is the person inside the cave that can make me feel threatened?' aiden thought as he tried to figure out the identity of the person inside the cave. he was not going inside until he made sure that his eggs would be safe.
"your majesty, former king aiden shadowdragon de reptiliance accept the greetings from this seat" a voice came from inside the cave. it was deep husky voice but it sounded like it belonged to a young male, maybe of someone in their early twenties, but aiden knew that appearance and voice can be deceiving, specially when the person referred to himself as this seat.
"can your respected self tell this lord who you are?" aiden asked trying to keep his voice low as not to offend the person in case they turn out someone stronger and important.
"i this little lord can tell you as you helped this seat just now, please come in i will neither harm you nor your eggs. i assure you that you are safe in this cave, once you come in we can talk freely" the voice said now sounding slightly less arrogant and proud than before.
aiden cant sense any bloodlust or killing intent from the cave so he accepted the offer and entered the cave along with his eggs. once he was inside the place changed as he passed through a barrier. the initially dark cave got filled with light and aiden saw that there was a large room in the cave nothing else. in the whole room there was a single stone on which sat a youth looking to be in early twenties but his body was not normal. it was translucent making aiden astonished just by looking at it.
aiden finally knew who the person in the cave was or rather the soul of person. the white hair black eyes and fair skin that had now turned translucent were enough to tell him the identity of the person as he had seen the person before once, but it was when the person was alive.
"greetings to lord kailial white, this king didnt thought that i would have the luck to meet your respected self again" aiden said with a smile. he really didnt thought that kailial was still alive even if it is still a soul fragment after the fight and changes in the world. 'no wonder he felt threatened with just a gaze the soul fragment had about enough strength to kill him.
"lets drop the greetings your majesty" kailial said opening his eyes. though aiden cant figure out any emotions from the soul face he knew that kailial was serious so he nodded
"as you know i fought with the fallen god and got my soul shattered into pieces that are all around the world in the process of sealing the fallen god away. i am not as strong as i was in the past and cant even fight you. there is a prophecy that a person like me would arrive in this world and help me gather all my soul fragments and help me revive. at that time the world would again gain powerhouses and it will go to its initial stage from before the fight. it had already been hundreds of years but that person is yet to arrive so i want your help to guard me until you can and help this world get rid of that so called god." kailial said straightforwardly.
aiden can understand what kailial was saying. staying in a soul fragment form his strength was diminished that he cant even defend himself. aiden had heard about the prophecy and knew that without kailial and that person this world will lead towards its end. the things kailial asked were in reason but there was a problem
"i will gladly do that but i am currently taking care of my eggs and trying to keep them safe from the cult members that want them. i came here to find a place to hide but if i am keeping guard for you how will i focus on my children's safety?" aiden asked
"no problem! this cave you can have it all to yourself. i will stay in a room at all times and won't come out to save my soul from dissipating. you can just focus on your children and keeping them safe and just don't let anyone know that i am in here. if you stay here my existence would fade away and they wont be able to sense me with you around" kailial said. aiden smiled and nodded accepting kailials offer.
"this secret i would keep until i either find the person from the prophecy or die" aiden told kailial.
.......
"after that i changed this place into what it is currently and began to live here, kailials soul always remained inside the last room i forbade you to enter. this place got attacked many times but just as kailial's soul fragment said his existence faded from the mind of those cult members and they began to focus on my eggs and me. for few months i managed to keep this place safe but the leaders from the cult member that were sent grew in strength and number. eventually one day i got cursed by a darkness user who attacked along with a poison user and necromancer. they managed to get in and get to the eggs but you or i should say the previous faes saved sky. after that what happened you know already" aiden said
faes was astonished by the story and didnt knew how to react. 'that is too much to process' she thought but the main question that kept popping in her mind was
"why did you told us about kailial's soul fragment? i uh- i know that you are going to rest in peace soon but that doesn't mean that you would tell us this kind of secret just like that" faes said. she had actually stopped crying and had lost herself to the story.
aiden smiled and patted her head
"you will know come with me" aiden said as he tried to get up from the bed.
"oh no don't move! you are not in the condition to move! it will worsen your health and-" aiden cut faes mid sentence as he smiled standing up weakly.
"i can stand and walk don't worry i will be fine, i will just die early what's there to worry when i am already about to die soon anyway?" aiden said but it just brought more tears in faes and sky's eyes making aiden sigh. he decided to ignore them and with help of faes support he got till the last door where kailial's soul fragment was present.
aiden knocked on the door weakly and the door opened by itself.
"remember to be respectful and don't worry he wont hurt you" aiden told faes and sky as he led them inside the dark room which currently only contained a single glowing orb floating in the centre.