"Where is the little one?" The white haired man asked.
"In the training grounds." Bella replied.
"Oh? The white haired man had a smile on his face. Let's hurry up then" he said as he began to increase his walking speed.
When he finally arrived at the training grounds he was a little bit surprised at what he saw.
"Huh?" The white haired said as he looked at Issac carrying Peter on his shoulders.
"Arthur?" Issac widened his eyes in surprise.
"Child? Arthur replied.
Issac clenched his fist as he heard the word. How would a man in his late twenties be calling a man who is old enough to be his father a child?" But he decided to force a smile at Arthur.
"Wait, is that Arthur Fernir?" one warrior whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"His the one no doubt," another replied, his voice filled with awe.
"What is he doing here?"
Murmurs spread throughout the training ground as the young warriors pondered the unexpected arrival of the legendary Arthur Fernir.
"So this is Arthur Fernir," Aiden said with a serious expression on his face. He remembered the day when Alex and Diane had brought him to this academy, unconscious and unaware of his surroundings. "He's the one that ordered Alex and Diane to bring me to this academy when I was unconscious..." He thought to himself.
Aiden's heart pounded with anticipation. If Arthur was here, then he must know what happened to him that day. He needed to speak to him at once.
As if Arthur could read his mind, he opened his mouth and said, "I am here for a boy named Aiden Hayes." He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the little crowd.
Everyone turned their attention towards Aiden who was still trying to figure out what to do in order to talk to Arthur without getting embarrassed.
"Aiden..." Pelia called him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Arthur Fernir wants to speak to you," she whispered.
Aiden, without hesitation, proceeded to meet Arthur, who had a huge smile on his face. Though some students were giving Aiden an uncomfortable stare, he didn't care. He walked up to Arthur and was about to ask him a lot of questions he had in mind, but Arthur raised his finger, telling him to keep shut.
"Follow me," he said.
Issac, still carrying Peter, decided to head to the healer's ward. The healer's ward was where a group of highly skilled healers treated those who had suffered severe injuries or other ailments.
While Isaac knew that the healers might not be able to do much about Peter's condition, he decided to put him in their care and call someone who might be able to figure out what was wrong with him.
***********************
Aiden followed Arthur without saying a word, while Arthur hummed a carefree tune. They kept walking for a while, along with Bella, but the silence became too awkward for Aiden to bear.
"Where are we going?" Aiden finally asked.
"A place where we can talk in private, I guess," Arthur replied. "Oh, you can go back to where you came from, Bella. Thank you for the information."
Bella nodded and went to her base while Aiden continued to follow Arthur.
Arthur's attire was simple, a black mantle that didn't seem to match his status as one of the Big Three. This made Aiden look at him in a strange way.
They headed outside the academy, and Arthur finally stopped. He looked up at the upper floors of the academy with a knowing smile, then suddenly waved.
"Who is he waving at?" Aiden thought to himself.
"Tsk, he saw me," Lagertha said, leaving the window and sitting down on her seat, looking restless.
Arthur stopped waving and dug his hands in his pockets. He looked at Aiden and nodded.
"Now then, ask your questions," Arthur said.
"What happened after I lost consciousness?" Aiden said in a serious tone.
"Well..." Arthur began, pausing for dramatic effect. "I ordered Diane and Alex to take you to this academy and..."
"Please stop playing around. I want to know what happened to me, my father, my mother, my sister..." Aiden trailed off, his voice filled with desperation. He looked at Arthur, demanding an answer.
"You didn't allow me to finish," Arthur said, giving Aiden an amusing look. But he noticed Aiden wasn't smiling at all.
"Okay, fine. When we arrived, we saw you surrounded by burnt corpses. We had to go further in order to see if there were any survivors, but what we witnessed was a town being burnt to ashes. I believe you understand what I just said," Arthur said.
"Yes... I understand... they are gone... mother, father, Freya..." Aiden wanted to cry but held it back.
"Then why am I here? Why did you bring me here? I wield... no... abilities." He looked at his hands, remembering his right with Lyra. "Does he know?" Aiden thought to himself.
"For a kid like you to survive the shadow yaijuu attacks is impressive. That's why I brought you here," Arthur said.
"Shadow-yaijuu?" Aiden asked, his eyes wide with confusion.
"Yes, the Yaijuu of the shadows. That's what we call them, or simply shadow-yaijuu," Arthur explained.
"Yaijuu are evolved creatures that exist in a different world altogether. The shadow yaijuu were created by the shadow emperor himself. They are different from other Yaijuus," Arthur continued.
"I don't understand what you meant by evolved creatures," Aiden said, his voice filled with curiosity.
"Don't worry, you will see them eventually, unless you decide to stay in this academy," Arthur said.
"I don't understand," Aiden repeated.
"Okay, let me explain. It feels like I abducted you and kept you in this academy. So you have a choice: you can leave this academy with enough food supplies to prepare your journey to avenge your family, or you can stay in this academy and learn a lot of things. Remember, the choice is yours," Arthur said with a smile on his face.