As Bruce introduced Felix to his team in a rather rushed manner, Mai was struggling in the underwater cave.
Her entire body was wet as the heat of the cave caused her no small amount of discomfort.
Beads of water, a mixture of the shimmering steam and her own sweat flowed down her forehead as she let out light breaths.
"I need to fall asleep," Mai thought to herself as she gazed at the unconscious Aiden. The pain she felt was a constant form of torture keeping her awake.
There were reasons why Mai wanted to fall asleep so badly, the first reason being the pill she swallowed.
A good amount of sleep could double the effectiveness of the healing pill, making her wounds heal two times faster.
As Mai struggled with her wounds, clinging to the faint gaps of relief amidst her pains, her gaze turned towards a certain dark-haired youth lying on the ground.
His gentle and carefree expression in such a situation made Mai feel jealous, a reaction she had no control over, while she was struggling to keep herself alive someone was taking a cat nap, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head.
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(Meanwhile in Aiden's head)
Aiden, confused and suspended in a cosmic void, looked around him as the vastness of space enveloped him. In the distance, he could see several large craters floating aimlessly around him.
He had been here for a while now, wondering how he had arrived here, but the more he thought about it, the more nothing made sense.
"Such a fascinating imagination, is this how you think space works?" A voice mixed with a heavy feeling of indifference suddenly asked from the distance, echoing in the unspoken void.
Turning around Aiden tried to find the source of this indifferent voice, his expression a mix of curiosity and apprehension as he relished in its familiarity. But he found nothing.
"Try looking above you?" The voice abruptly suggested, prompting Aiden to look above himself.
He was surprised to find a figure in pitch-black armor sitting, below the rock.
Because of the unbelievable darkness of the armor, this figure seemed to blend in with the void around him, but the bioluminescent purple glow in its gaps gave him away.
This figure was silent, staring at Aiden as its long tail swayed with a certain grace.
He had met this figure before, when he had survived that strange place, but unlike the last time they met the man didn't seem all that imposing, instead this figure exuded no aura, at all, it was as if he wasn't even there in the first place.
This feeling was so strong that Aiden was sure that if this figure hadn't spoken up, he would have completely overlooked him.
Remembering what he had passed through in that strange purplish realm Aiden asked cautiously, "Why am I here?"
With Aiden's question, the void was suddenly enveloping in a strange silence as neither party spoke again.
For Aiden, the Silence was suffocating. Fortunately, the Soul Sovereign eventually spoke.
"You could be here for a number of reasons, which? I don't know. Perhaps a dance orchestrated by your own body, a clandestine maneuver to shield the fragility of your mind. a fleeting attempt at escaping the pain you're about to feel."
Now it was Aiden's turn to fall silent, he didn't know what to say, he just gazed at the strange man in dark otherworldly armor, admiring the intricacies of its craft.
Noticing Aiden's obvious stare, the Soul Sovereign asked, "You seem to like my armor? Does it intrigue you that much?"
Hearing the Soul Sovereign's question, Aiden replied, "Yes, It's really eye-catching?"
"Haha!"
The Soul Sovereign suddenly let out a deep and throaty chuckle, his voice carrying the whispers of experience.
His chuckle lasted for a few minutes. He savoured every tone as though it were his last and when he was done he said to Aiden.
"That's the thing with young and intelligent creatures, you always long for something so elusive, casting aside the boundless expanse of possibilities that unfolds within the grasp of your gaze."
"What do you mean?" Aiden asked, and the Soul Sovereign replied, "In the silent corridors of self-reflection, have you ever dared to scrutinize the tapestry of your own strength? To push against the boundaries that confine you, testing the very limits of your capabilities, unraveling the mysteries of your true potential."
"I-"
"No you haven't," the Soul Sovereign interrupted Aiden before darting in, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Instead you choose to swim in your ignorance, wallow in your fear, do you know how pathetic you are? Why do you think Whisper left you?"
Aiden, briefly surprised by the strange man's rude tone suddenly felt a pang of anger surge through him, but he chose to remain quiet.
With a lower tone, he said "That's not true? I don't mean any disrespect but Whisper left for other reasons, not because she was embarrassed by me but because she wanted to help me."
"Ohh, you're spineless too?" The Soul Sovereign said before darting in.
"In the intricate tapestry of our interaction you seem to harbor the notion that if you anger me, I'll do something to you. Maybe I'll reclaim the powers I had granted you, or do you think I'll send you to that strange realm again? Even though you're not fond of me, you're willing to swallow your pride as a Sovereign, why? I disdain you Aiden, you remind me of End, but unlike her, you fear me."
The Soul Sovereign's words seemed to have struck a chord in Aiden as his anger rose even more but he didn't overreact, instead, he balled his fists.
"I'm not a sovereign, I'm not some kind of protagonist," Aiden said, his voice rising as he spoke.
"I'm just a normal person, and all I want is my family back, I'm sorry if I feel fear like a normal person, I'm sorry I don't always know what I'm doing, but it's not my fault, I used to spend my day working my ass off for money while daydreaming about how I was going become a Contractor and slap my enemies in the face-"
"Then do that!"
The soul sovereign interrupted before darting in, "That's the problem with you, imbued with newfound strength, you linger in hesitation. Your words echo grand intentions, yet action remains an elusive companion. In the corridors of your mind, many visions unfold, a fervent desire to assail the Horatio mansion in a symphony of retribution, to make those responsible for your family's separation pay. But for what purpose do you yearn to exact payment from those beneath you? Define the essence of your vendetta."
"THEY MALTREATED ME!" Aiden yelled.
"Did they kill you? I created a realm to torture you out of your fear, you died more times than you can remember, Does not the pulsating desire to mete out retribution surge within you, do you not want to assail me for the orchestrated symphony of suffering you went through?"
"That's different," Aiden replied before darting in, "they humiliated me, treated me unfairly-"
"The human named Gold beat your companion to stupor. Three Face sought to forge chains of servitude within you. Does the ember of vengeance not flicker within your core, yearning to unleash a tempest upon those who dared to transgress against you? What restrains the hand that could wield the storm of retribution??" The Soul Sovereign asked before darting in.
"In the crucible of disappointment, the revelation unfolds—you, Aiden, stand tethered by fear, reluctant to confront those of superior strength. End, it appears, has discerned a worthier successor, while I'm stuck with you."
The void was once again overwhelmed by a stifling Silence, until Aiden spoke, "I'm willing to change, teach me how to abandon my fear."
"You can't," the strange man spoke, before adding, "Your sojourn within that realm, my endeavor to strip away your fear through the tapestry of death, proved futile. In my miscalculation, the essence of humanity eluded me. The directness of my approach, a stark contrast to the subtleties of End's design, perhaps more attuned to the intricacies of human natures, wait-"
The Soul Sovereign suddenly paused as if he'd thought of something, "how fascinating, I've never thought about it this way before," he muttered.
Aiden his eyes focused on this Soul Sovereign asked, "What is it that you haven't thought about?"
"Whoosh!"
The Soul Sovereign suddenly disappeared, and in the next moment appeared right in front of Aiden.
This gave Aiden quite the scare but he tried his best to maintain his composure.
Now that he was up close, he could see the armor in detail and even now it looked to be straight out of a fancy book.
"You can't fear what you know," the soul sovereign suddenly said before darting in,
"Once you return, embrace the mantle of learning and understanding. Immerse yourself in the vast ocean of knowledge as if your very existence hinges upon it. Initially, I intended to grant you a technique capable of easing your mother's plight, but a shift in the winds of decision compels a change of course."
"What!" Aiden suddenly yelled but was interrupted by the Soul Sovereign
"A paradigm shift unfolds," the Soul Sovereign muttered before adding.
"I relinquish the role of bestowing skills upon you. Henceforth, the onus lies upon your shoulders to unravel the intricacies of your abilities. A challenge is issued, and the prospect of reward beckons should you weave a tapestry hitherto unseen in my gaze.
"Please, you-" Aiden tried to say something not fully understanding the meaning behind the sovereign's words but he felt an overwhelming force silence him.
"I'm doing this for you Aiden." The Soul Sovereign spoke, before adding. "Since you're not suited for the path of an awe-inspiring hero, then maybe you'll do better as a well-read scholar."
Aiden shook his head obviously disagreeing with what the strange man was saying, but the strange man ignored him and continued to speak.
"You don't seem to understand the gravity of your situation, so let me break it down for you, when I designed that place I left behind the soul armor. Unfortunately, it was stolen by the participants before you, though he failed the test he somehow managed to find a loophole and escaped with my soul armor," The Soul Sovereign said, his tail swaying as he continued.
"Yet, the quandary emerges—without this ethereal shield, traversing the tenth gate becomes an insurmountable challenge. Basically impossible. This is because, without the soul armor, your body cannot handle true soul energy."
Aiden didn't seem to be bothered by the Soul Sovereign's words, instead, he thought, "As long as I can survive the abysmal enclave and save my mother then what more would I want?"
Aiden didn't have any grand ambition, he just wanted to be powerful enough to save and protect his mother, be respected, and live a comfortable life, at first he wanted revenge, but the Sovereign's scolding made him understand that it was pointless.
Surviving the abysmal enclave would solve most of his problems, as Contractors could make millions by selling the parts of demons, but without his mother, all that wealth would be useless, as long as the Soul Sovereign gave him what he had promised at the fifth gate, Aiden would have no regrets.
As if reading Aiden's thoughts, the Soul Sovereign chuckled chillingly.
"You're blind aren't you?" He said slowly. In the next moment, he grabbed Aiden's face between his fingers.
Aiden felt a biting cold on his face as the cold and metallic feeling of the Soul Sovereign's armor invaded his senses.
He shuddered as he heard the soul sovereign's raspy voice "It appears that my message eludes your grasp, I didn't tell you to give up. Nevertheless, since you're so blind, I'll help you see!"