"Who are you??"
Veritas questioned the figure, a perplexed look on his face.
Once the tear dropped down to the floor, the whole area seemed to shake.
It was as if a tremor underneath had just occurred, opening some sort of gate somewhere.
Yet there was no gate, the action made by the shaking earth made it seem that way.
Veritas stared directly at the figure with a covered face, he could not quite distinguish its identity but Veritas felt very familiar to it.
With each second that passed, Veritas could distinguish its identity, but somehow... his memory of deducting its identity would vanish.
The figure shared the distinct attributes of his father, and Veritas felt the sense of Guidance coming from the individual.
"You... You are of Guidance.. I can't be mistaken!"
Although Veritas could not see it, the figure grinned.
"Perhaps."
Such a vague answer! Veritas could not confirm whether the figure in front of him was his father or not!
But his instincts ran rampant, Guidance flowed throught the figures' veins. Veritas, who had experienced Guidance for all his life, could not mistake this feeling as a mere fluke.
He asked once again:
"Why do you have Guidance deep within you!?"
The figure walked slowly towards Veritas..
Immediately, he felt a terror creep up in his spine, and Veritas' body trembled for a little bit.
It felt like his Soul was being pressured once more, it was as if he had encountered the Seraphim of Gold once more!
But this one was weaker yet sharper!
Veritas could not use mere words to explain the feeling but it was much more painful than the pressurizing feeling of dread when Veritas stared upon the Seraphim.
He spat out blood.
"Gah-"
'I have to get away!'
Mustering all his strength, Veritas used his flimsy legs to crawl back and away from the figure.
Every step it took seemed to explode in Veritas ears, as if a resounding scream enveloped the entire manor... No, the entire storm!
Veritas, who was crawling at a slow pace, gradually reached the end of the room. A luxurious marble wall covered his vision.
He faced back at the figure..however, staring at it caused his eyes to bleed.
Everything was turning red at the sight of blood.
Slowly, the figure kneeled down in front of the bloody-eyed Veritas.
The shadow veil covering its face slowly faded.
Veritas saw the similar deep-gold eyes that his Father had, his facial features were similar yet looked younger.
A chiseled jawline, clear skin, smooth yet careful lips, empty eyes, and a tired-looking expression on his face.
He whispered:
"I am not your enemy.."
Veritas looked at the figure's serious looking eyes and the scene around them changed.
Once a regal yet dark manor, now turned into a peaceful small hut that contained daily necessities.
Veritas saw cooking materials, a comfy old bed, a table with one faulty leg, and many more. He was.. met with a peaceful sight.
His Soul trembled no longer.
He also saw the figure's attire change to that of normal homely clothing.
He is comfortable at the remains of his familiar abode.
"Sit. Make yourself comfortable"
Veritas was dumbfounded.
'How am I supposed to be comfortable when you almost made me lose control?!'
That said, Veritas still found a place to sit on.
On one of the wooden chairs, Veritas felt the hard and raspy surface of it to be uncomfortable to his but
Veritas faced the figure and saw that he was carefully observing Veritas with those deep golden eyes of his.
It almost looked like the figure was hiding his real expression, yet Veritas could not discern what it was.
Then.. he spoke:
"I have spent a millenia being trapped in eternal solitude... It is nice to see another human face."
Veritas did not know what to reply, it seemed like a test but it also felt like the figure was being genuine.
"...I understand your wariness."
The figure opened his mouth and closed it right back, not finding the words to say.
In the end, he looked down, dejected and awkward.
Veritas took this opportunity to ask some questions.
"Who exactly are you?"
The figure raised his head with enthusiasm but it immediately died down.
"It is not the time for you to learn that.."
Veritas felt bitter but it was understandable.
"Then... What is this place, why is it that I only see endless fields of grass in the horizon?"
"That.."
The figure's mouth seemed to vibrate. He closed his eyes and said:
"Hell."
Veritas' eyes widened, he pondered.
'Is he nuts? How is this hell?! Wasn't it supposed to be full of flames and seas of cold?'
Veritas ignored the questions in his mind and focused more on important ones.
Even though knowing where was is considered to be an essential piece of knowledge, Veritas needed to know more about his situation rather than the location that he was in.
Additionally, the individual in front of him already answered that question too..
Veritas moved on.
"Why am I here?"
The figure stared at Veritas and shifted his position.
"I.. cannot answer that."
"Why not?"
"Simply said.. you would vanish once I do. Your Impure Soul would not be able to handle the immense quality of knowledge that comes with my answer.
"That... makes sense."
Veritas added another question:
"How about you? Why are you here?"
The figure shook his head.
"I also cannot answer that."
"I see."
Veritas pondered a little bit more, and leaned back at the frail chair. He was suddenly shocked when the chair made a cracking sound in his back.
Veritas almost thought that he was going to fall.
Still, he continued with the questions.
"Are you in control of the storm outside?"
The figure paused for a second before answering.
"..indeed."
Veritas leaned forward.
'As expected.. this damn guy caused me so much trouble.. I should make him pay - wait.. am I stronger than him? I wonder what his Soul Rank is...'
He then stared at the individual that looked like his father.
"Are you a Pathbearer?"
"..yes"
Veritas tilted his head.
"What Soul Rank?"
"I-"
The individual hesitated and stopped in his words. He opened his mouth yet could not bring himself to speak.
"Is it something that you also cannot answer?" Veritas asked with a petty tone.
"..no, it's just... absurd."
"How so?"
"Nevermind."
The individual breathed deeply, carefully formulating the answer in his head.
" My Soul Rank is.. Empyrean."
"Gah!"
Veritas jumped back in surprise!
'Scratch that! This guy can kill me with a flick of his fingers!'
Veritas entire demeanour changed, he thought that he was in control of the conversation but he suddenly shifted his tone to that of a softer one.
"I- uh, mister.. may I know of your name?"
The individual in front of Veritas squinted his eyes. He wanted to answer but something compelled him to stop.
Still, he opened his mouth and let out his raspy voice.
"Freedom. My name is Freedom."
'Quite a peculiar name..' Veritas judged quickly.
"Mr. Freedom, I apologize for having a treacherous tone, it won't happen again!"
Perhaps the encounter with another Empyrean, a Seraphim of Gold, made Veritas remember the experience and pain that he was subjected to.
Hence, the polite shift in his manner.
The individual caught eye of this and pointed it out.
"Why the change in tone? Are you afraid?"
Veritas clasped his hands.
"Oh not at all! I am merely delighted to be in the presence of an Empyrean.."
Veritas was then glared at by the individual.
After a few seconds, its gaze turned soft and calm.
"Don't be, I have no power left..."
"Oh."
He did not expect the Empyrean in front of him to show great weakness.
Mr. Freedom looked dejected, as if he longed for the power that he once had. Alas, it was only history to him, forever concealed in the dark edges of the past.
"You.. how did you lose it?"
"You don't understand it yet but after being trapped here for a millenia, your Soul would be gradually sapped and used to feed this treacherous place!"
Veritas widened his eyes and he was curious about the physical manifestation of Mr. Freedom's Soul.
"Mister.. I have once encountered an Empyrean who had six wings and embodied the concept of gold and Brilliance."
Veritas did not expect it but Mr. Freedom suddenly tensed at the mention of the six-winged Empyrean.
He hissed:
"Aurelium.."
Veritas was perplexed and questioned what his relationship with the Seraphim was.
"You know Him?"
Mr. Freedom twitched at the mere mention of the Seraphim.
"Indeed. It was He that led me here."
A newfound information! The Seraphim of Gold was enemies with the man named Mr. Freedom! This meant that he could be a potential ally!
Veritas felt comfortable knowing that they shared the common enemy.
"I've also fought him once before! He turned me to gold though, but luckily.. I escaped.."
"That damned Seraphim!"
Veritas could feel Mr. Freedom's anger fill up the hut.
He moved on and asked his initial question.
"The thing is.. I saw Him gain a pair of wings after He turned an entire city to gold. I assumed that His 6 wings were the physical manifestation of his Soul.."
Veritas carefully chose his words so as to not stumble and say the wrong thing.
"So I thought, do Empyreans vary with each and every person or do you not have a physical manifestation of your Soul at all.."
Mr. Freedom rubbed his chin and thought of an answer. After a second, he replied:
"While it is true that it varies, it doesn't mean that I do not possess one at all. Even if I'm weakened, the Soul could never vanish if it's absorbed. However, it would take if it is gradually being taken away from an individual then it would take thousands of years to completely vanish, especially for a Soul of an Empyrean."
"Do you get what I'm saying?"
"I- I do."
"Great. In simpler terms, the physical manifestation of my Soul had already dwindled down to its former size. It used to be larger than continents but now.. it is merely half of its former glory."
He looked out the window, straight to the Wind walls.
"Do you see the storm out there? The one that enveloped you?"
Veritas was silent yet his eyes were gradually getting wider.
'It can't be! That storm is at least 50x as big as Elrod!'
Mr. Freedom continued.
"You've guessed it.. that storm is my Soul."