I felt numb throughout the entirety of the short journey back home. Everything was a blur; my vision was hazy, and it made everything appear double. As the minutes passed by, I managed to snap myself back to reality; just enough for my thoughts to focus again. That evening had made me feel some sort of sensation that I didn't want to face; something about Anna felt weird and bad.
When I got to our house I broke down, it's been so long since i've felt this conflicted. What is this feeling inside my stomach? A deep voice called out to me, snapping me from my thoughts, "Don't you want revenge on those bullies?"
My head slowly turned in the direction. Standing behind me was an imposing figure in black armor and a terrifying gaze. The figure radiated death.
"You are weak and incompetent to fight, this makes things difficult because we cannot destroy him if we are weak... There are two days before you have to meet Gaius once again, don't fuck this up for us." the voice in my head said.
I shrugged the statement off and walked inside where Mother was already setting the table, "Here darling," I glanced over and there were two plates. My plate had a small portion of grilled vegetables while mother's contained vegetables and chicken.
The conversation at the table was very relaxed and light; nothing major happened, though our little interaction about magic and my desire to use it hadn't gone as I originally planned, in fact, I was really confused and concerned for myself. Mother just seemed to have this way to make you relax around her and forget whatever worries you're having at that moment.
The one problem was she never actually told you any real solutions to problems she knew you were currently dealing with, and then proceed to ask more questions to keep things going without giving an actual answer. I decided that it would be best for the conversation to end there and go to bed.
The week passed rather uneventfully until Friday arrived, where I finally would see Gaius again after a long eventful 6 days. "How have you been Sora?" Gaius greeted me with a polite wave.
"I've been fine, Gaius. Although I will say that this place is boring as heck."
I watched him nod, his lips slightly curled upwards. He always had the smallest hints of a smirk at any time he talked to me. I thought to myself. "Do I ever smile, and if so when did I smile and why have I never noticed before? Am I such a boring person? That's probably it."
I chuckled aloud at the idea. Gaius stopped for a second and tilted his head questionably toward me. I'm probably overthinking things again. "I was wondering, why did you want me to come out here?" I asked, thinking a bit before asking.
He thought about it for a bit, then gave a smile. "I've been doing a bit of digging on you, analyzing everything that you have been doing these past 6 days and I've found some interesting stuff about you Cyrus. Tell me, why can you use Aether?"
My jaw tightened, my breath caught. "What do you mean why? How was that ever related? How much is this asshole able to predict about a normal kid?" I thought, before replying.
"Aether is what comes natural to me, it has always been so..."
"There's another thing, you aren't 10 years old, or at least mentally you are much older than your physical body." A shiver ran down my spine, not only was he able to perfectly guess the situation that I'm in, he was also able to figure out that I can use Aether. My lips grew dry, but somehow I managed to respond: "What do you want?" I croaked.
Gaius' face grew a wide smile, "Ah good, there's some fire. To put this bluntly, you can be worth a pretty penny."
My heart leapt into my throat, beating a million beats a minute. It took all my willpower not to go berserk there and then. Gaius just continued smiling in front of me as if nothing were happening; it was almost unnerving to look at his smile.
Gaius raised his hand, signaling for me to remain calm. "What you're going to do for me is come with me so I can sell you and then you'll escape and we can both make a good amount of gold coin." His explanation sounded straightforward enough, but I would never go through this. Fuck this guy, trying to use me for his own personal benefit.
My temper flared instantly and my face heated up; the veins on my face pulsated and veins swelled angrily on the backside as my knuckles were completely white.
I couldn't stand to hear him talk anymore. As quickly as I could muster my fist impacted heavily upon Gaius' left temple. I watched his form drop with a loud thud as his lifeless body lied motionlessly against the ground. His face twisted from that cheeky grin into one of pain and anguish. "So you want to do this the hard way boy? I tried to cut you a deal, but it seems I just have to rough you up a bit." he roared in anger, picking up a nearby log with his leg. With an almighty crash the log split in half as it hit my right shoulder. The wood landed with a resounding crack.
The tree splinted instantly under the impact, exploding in all directions, showering everyone in it. Blood gushed from the newly inflicted wounds all across my body. It was only now that I realized the severity of my injuries. His massive bulk still managed to hold itself above me and pinned me in place beneath its weight.
I couldn't move any of my limbs at this point; my breathing was getting slower and slower, becoming harder to maintain with each intake. Then it happened: a sharp pain shot through my right leg, a crack sounding as he snapped my bone. Tears filled my eyes instantly.
He stepped off of me, staring down on me with utter disgust.
A crimson fluid was splattered everywhere on the ground beneath him. The battle had been over in such a short amount of time. "You're nothing! No one is even paying attention to our fight right now, do you know why?" Gaius smirked, looking up at me. I kept looking into his eyes as my mind went through a turmoil of thoughts; thoughts on whether I should go through with this or run away, leave and never be seen again. My hands were already shaking as they rested upon my head and gripped tightly onto my hair. Gaius sighed loudly before raising his foot high above my head and stomped downwards.
"Oh what? Don't wanna watch a little boy die by your hand?" he taunted mockingly, continuing his descent. I lay there, unable to get up even if I tried. I couldn't move an inch, didn't feel as though I could even get a sound out of my mouth to defend myself. I tried not to give Gaius a reaction or say anything, however I couldn't control it; a small scream came forth from my lungs as the final blow impacted into my body.
Blood flew through the air from all sides, each splatter sending a rush of coldness through every nerve ending and joint throughout my body. His attack didn't kill me instantly but he managed to inflict severe internal injuries throughout my entire being.
My blood was warm, sticky and messy. Everything hurts right now; the pain is beyond comprehensible. Why was I going to be killed by this bastard? Is there something I could have done differently, to make myself less of a victim and more useful in terms of skill and abilities?