"What do you mean not popular?" Zenon asked.
Aurea stayed silent for a while and said,
"The Hellish Faction was rising in power along with his leader. And Fists of Hell… well, he almost grew stronger than the Fire Keepers."
"What… the hell?" Zenon mumbled, "Is that even possible?"
"Back then it was. He was a Lineage carrier, Fire's to be precise. He was even Named as Fists of Hell. He managed to climb so much in power that he even ruled the world for decades without any sort of resistance.
He was preparing to conquer the Fourth Layer as well..." Her voice trailed off.
Zenon - not wanting to rush things - remained silent while looking at her. Aurea remained still for some moments before gritting her teeth and taking a deep breath.
"He was my grandfather... that's a way to put it."
Zenon's eyes widened. That Fists of Hell, who almost managed to become stronger than the Fire Faction, was Aurea's grandfather? But, their Elements…
"Your Elements are completely different."
Aurea looked at Zenon for a while and said, "My mother was adopted. She later became a Sound Whisperer… What do you think a person like Fists of Hell would be?"
Zenon thought for a bit about that question before saying, "Perhaps a good mentor? Someone like him could give some good advice."
Aurea laughed and said,
"Well, he is not that person. He isn't kind, he isn't humble and he isn't a good mentor by far. Instead, he is rude, egotistical, and has a sense of envy that no human should ever possess.
Luckily, these feelings appeared after he adopted my mother. He could raise her like a proper daughter instead that another tool for her Faction, something I'm grateful for."
Aurea's eyes widened while she was spitting out those words. Her fists were clenched, her nails threatening to cut the skin.
"He became… no, he was an asshole, Zenon. He was a person I couldn't see the kindness everyone talked about. And after he conquered the Third Layer? He was someone I deeply feared and despised.
You know how I am, going head-on against Second-Ranks without batting an eye… but that man was the first living being I was terrified of. Being the young child I was - around five years old at the time - I could only dream of him going away.
My father and mother also feared that he would do something reckless and end with the Faction's reputation for once at all… and he did. He went against the Fire Faction and lost miserably."
Zenon's jaw slightly dropped. The Fire Faction… he went against those beasts! How could he not lose?! What kind of monster could defeat their leader anyways?!
Aurea looked like she was on the verge of breaking her teeth off. Her jaw was tightly clenched and a trembling took hold of her body.
"Hey… you don't need to tell al-"
"No!" Aurea subconsciously shouted, scaring both of them as if something may have heard them.
Not wasting a moment, Leviathan and Phoenix quickly left and scouted ahead in an instant. No Layer Beast seemed to have heard the girl's shout, which brought a sense of relief to their minds.
"Sorry about that… but no. I need to share this story, or else it'll haunt me forever."
"But, why me?"
Aurea peeked at Zenon and said, "I… I have my reasons for doing so. It's not something bad, but I think that the fewer secrets we carry between each other, the better."
Zenon looked at her for a few seconds and subconsciously smiled. Aurea made an easy-going expression and continued.
"As I said, the Fire Faction went against us, planning ambushes to our teams inside the Layers or sending Fire Keepers to spy on us… I'll cut down to the chase, they killed my grandfather when the leader showed up in one of those ambushes.
His death marked the end of that Faction war. The Fire Faction left us alone and my parents are currently with the Sound Whisperers."
Zenon blinked twice while muttering, "What happened after that?" grabbing Aurea's attention.
"After that, my parents sold most of my grandfather's Carapaces to get some funds for my care. I went to the best training center on the continent and never felt so lonely before. And when I found out I possessed a Sound Lineage?
I've never seen my parents working so hard to keep that secret from anyone. When my grandfather died, it seemed like Fire was uneasy, since someone with a Lineage almost managed to tumble over his Faction.
Some days after his death, Fire gave the order to execute any human carrying a Lineage. So yeah, I guess that my grandfather dying came as a hard blow to you."
Zenon connected the dots in an instant and understood why his parents… well specifically his dad became so uneasy out of nowhere. Knowing that your child would die no matter what isn't something easy to swallow.
"Now we have the six great Factions ruling over everything… A part of me wishes that my grandfather didn't become insane and actually helped the Hellish Faction to reach that prestige. No point in crying over spilled milk anyways."
Aurea sat back up while stretching her back, making some joints crack and getting some groans in exchange. Zenon lied on the ground while trying to digest everything that Aurea said.
The fact that someone like him had the courage to go against the strongest Faction that has ever existed in that period is far more frightening than his death.
How could someone be so decided to pretty much suicide?
Something didn't add up here nonetheless.
Looking at Aurea, who was trying to lose the stiffness in her joints, Zenon opened his mouth and asked,
"Do you know why Fists of Hell went insane? I guess you don't buy that he just randomly lost his mind."
"Well…" Aurea cracked some joints for the final time and continued, "It happened after the Second Layer but became more notorious after the Third. Whatever he saw down Memory Lane was enough to make him lose his mind."
Zenon frowned his forehead and muttered, "Memory Lane?"
Aurea blinked twice and looked at Zenon like he was extremely retarded. Without missing a beat, Aurea said,
"Do you know anything about the Layers?"
Zenon kept complete silence for solid five seconds which made Aurea sigh and explain,
"I only know the basics. After cleaning a Second or Third Layer Rift and jumping inside you get sent toward the past of the Layer. To get out of there and conquer it… I think you need to defeat a special situation. That's all I know."
"It… makes sense."
Aurea leaned over the lifted edge of the cave and looked around for a moment. Zenon did the same, just wanting to move his body around. After some seconds Aurea said,
"We should get going. You sent Leviathan to scout earlier so, lead the way."
Jumping from the cave, Zenon was finally able to look around the place more freely. There was a difference between sharing senses and looking at them by yourself, the latter being far more pleasing.
"Zenon." Aurea called, to which the boy turned around, "What happens in the Layers, stay in the Layers."
Zenon squinted his eyes before realizing what she meant by that. Just, don't say anything about Fists of Hell when they get out of here. He turned around and continued watching the caverns.
It was… an interesting ecosystem to say the least. It's not every day that you find a cave infested with spores and fungi. Now Zenon was praying for said spores to not be poisonous or something similar.
Both Unseens began walking through the cave.
Zenon summoned Sharp Fang in case something attacked them, and since Aurea couldn't fight with a weapon they had to be extra careful. He took an innocent peek at Aurea and noticed how destroyed her armor was.
Everything was either bent or straight-up ripped off. Her legs were pretty much out in the open, along with some holes around her belly area where the moisture could easily get inside.
The armor was sturdy enough to withstand all that damage and not break completely.
"Whatcha staring at?" Aurea asked.
"Nothing… just wondering how you are going to survive with that armor. Which Tier is it?"
"First-Tier, what they give you in the Academy. What about your vines, are they any better?"
Without an ounce of shame, Zenon said, "Second-Tier. It was a gift."
Aurea stared at Zenon while frowning her forehead as she analyzed his entire figure. Not a single body part was spared from that look in her eyes, and finally, she said,
"So what Dan said was true?"
Zenon looked at her for a moment before rolling his eyes and quickening his pace. Aurea did so as well while muttering,
"I wonder why he didn't gift me anything though."