| Aiden's POV |
To be completely honest, ever since I emerged from my secluded training, I hadn't felt quite like myself—or maybe I was feeling too much like my old self. It was strange, yet familiar. This feeling... I was happy. Not that it was new, but I never fully understood it. I acknowledged the fact that I'd need time to get used to this version of me, but despite that, I'd made significant progress, so I pushed the matter aside.
As Jasmine and I approached the main castle, the crowd grew, and I could feel their eyes on us. As I had warned her, most of them wore various expressions, such as: amazement, disbelief, or shock.
''See, I told you. Look at their faces—pale as ghosts, jaws practically on the floor. I think I even saw a few girls from your faction looking so astonished that they almost fainted.'' I teased.
''Let them faint; we have more important things to deal with,'' she replied, her tone serious but with a hint of playfulness.
Nodding exaggeratedly, I agreed, ''True,'' so we kept on walking till we finally reached our destination.
We released each other's hands as we neared the main hall doors. Holding hands inside the building in front of everyone would have been... awkward.
Upon entering, I met Kal, who introduced me to two faction leaders: Francis Dern and Klea Blum.
The three of them, although engrossed in their professional duties, still seemed shocked by the sight of me holding Jasmine's hand.
"No, nothing is going on between us if that's what you're asking, it's just mere formalities," I stated firmly.
They exchanged suspicious glances but didn't press further.
We then discussed the seating arrangements for the upcoming meeting, just as we encountered another group of faction leaders accompanied by their followers.
''I presume you're the infamous Aiden? It's a pleasure to meet you.'' Spoke the front-most adult-looking man, who was apparently the leader of the Winter Garden faction, judging by the emblem on his shirt. He extended his hand, and I considered kissing it, but since there were so many people watching us, I did not.
Instead, I shook his hand and answered, ''I am indeed the infamous one. The pleasure is mine.'' He smiled, and I proceeded to introduce myself to the three other leaders beside him.
Bernard Christian, from the Golden-Sun Kingdom | Population of 1400 people | Strength: 3-star faction.
Anna Baul, from the Dark Society | Population of 1947 people | Strength: 3-star faction.
Paul Artena, from the Transcendent Palace | Population of 1561 | Strength: 4-star faction.
The 'star' system was a recent invention that classified the strength of a faction based on the number of martial artists and their combat power. Three months had passed since the world had changed, and this system provided a transparent way to gauge the true strength of each faction by averaging the combat power of all its members. No secrets, no hidden powerhouses—everyone's faction's true strength was known.
''In one hour, we shall commence the meeting. And Aiden, next time, please help me with the accommodations, will you? There were only four of us, and it was a... PAIN. So, maybe ease up on the training a bit,'' Kal said, his tone desperate.
"Sure thing, I'll cut down from eight hours to six," I joked, earning a heated reaction from Kal. "You bast—I mean, leader, please don't joke like that, hehe," he retorted.
We got everyone laughing with our warm and humorous ambiance. But jokes had to be put aside for now, thus we began finalizing the preparations. Minutes after minutes passed as we arranged for everyone's seats, and among those minutes, at least a dozen or so were used to present myself to the other 21 leaders. Indeed, there were over 26 leaders.
Sub-leaders like Clark, Jammes, and even Wilson, who led a faction but wasn't recognized as an official leader, weren't included in the count. Their followers would either submit to a recognized leader or remain independent, as Wilson and Lisa Aberman had chosen. This left the total population of the 26 factions at 75,432 members—a staggering number.
And yet, this seemingly monstrous number only represented a minor region on our side of the world. In fact, after some calculations, students who were considered to be very proficient in math found out that there could still be more than 1.7 billion humans present on Earth, or whatever our Earth had become. Seventy-five thousand people were still nothing; it was a humbling realization.
But, waving away this amazement, I quickly focused on the important matter at hand.
"Alright, everyone, please quiet down and take your seats," I ordered, my voice authoritative yet composed.
''We will now begin the meeting and discuss the following matters: the selection of martial artists of every faction participating in the tournament and the alliance between certain factions." As everyone settled, I continued, ''To assist in organizing this meeting, my vice leader, Kal Blasor, and Clark Yugilson will be by my side.''
I saw almost every person inside the meeting building nodding in understanding and approval of my words, marking the positive start of this meeting. Although initially anxious, I soon quelled away my fears.
In the main hall room, which was quite enormous, we were now all seated around this giant round table. It could accommodate up to 40 people in total but was somehow adjustable to make it tinier and be used for just the perfect number of guests.
The ambiance was neither grim nor cold, but perhaps slightly tense since no one here was quite as mature as actual adults were meant to be to hold such meetings in a good way.
Nevertheless, it was now time to begin. Clark spoke first when all leaders were seated and ready.
''Alright, good. Let's start with the tournament matter. As we were told a month ago by God himself, this tournament will serve as a way to stimulate our hearts as fighters and prepare us for the true competition and the outside world's cruelty. And let's not forget that it will also decide the true ruler of our region. The winning faction leader will become a king.''
''I won't waste everyone's time by repeating the same information again, but I must remind you all that if you do not wish to take part in this tournament, then it is authorized. No consequences will occur."
"So, I, along with other council members of Aiden's faction, have come up with a way to decide all of your combatants. We will go in order from the least populated faction to the one with the most members.'' Taking a short breath, Clark went on with his speech.
"Every leader will then be asked to speak, alongside his representative, about his choice. The names that will be pronounced will be recorded by Jammes, my colleague, as well as Martin, who serves as the martial art competition holder."
"You all already knew of Martin's position beforehand, so I don't think I need to explain why he was chosen to be the one in charge of it.''
Clark continued to speak and explain the process for the selection of referees. Each faction would have two referees to control the duels, but the referees' selection would take place last in the meeting.
''Without further ado, and if no one here has doubts or questions or even objections, it is time to start the fighter's selection.'' As soon as Clark said this, which concluded his discourse, a lot of people spoke out, saying they had no objections or questions.
''We have no objections!'' Yelled the female leader of the 'Silver Heart Domain faction'.
Another leader also voiced his agreement, this time it was a man. "We have no questions; I think you can proceed right away, sir.''
It kept on going on like this for a very short time, but it was a bombardment of agreement, which quite surprised Aiden and his councilors because they thought that they would have to face a struggle right from the start. But they were fine. Jammes Lyzgak then started to call out every faction's leader and asked for their martial artist's choice if they wanted to participate.
"Silvain Murdon, leader of the 'Winter Garden' faction, do you participate in the tournament?" Silvain immediately responded, ''As the leader of the acknowledged weakest faction, I shall not participate and instead focus on improving my faction.''
"Alright, we will write off your faction name on the board; Chloe will take care of that."
There was a board in the uttermost right corner of the room; on it, Chloe would either write a cross or a check mark to make sure everyone could see what faction had accepted to participate or not. This was not useless, as it would also prevent people who dozed off during the meeting from forgetting which faction's turn it was to speak.
Before Chloe was even done writing the cross, Jammes swiftly carried on with his duties.
"Bernard Christian, leader of the Golden-Sun Kingdom, will you participate?" He said in a serious but tranquil tone, indicating his greater experience in dealing with large crowds. Aiden was pleased to remark that.
"Yes, we will." Answered Bernard, he then directly told his martial artists candidates, ''I picked Sylrit Jenne, Jean-Pierre, Mike ploe, and Derick Silzar." Jammes then asked him about proof of their participation and their status if they wanted to divulge them.
"Only Mike and Derick agreed to reveal their status, with their combat strength being at 51 and 52, respectively. Here's proof of their power." As he spoke, he handed a document to the leader seated beside him, intending for it to be passed along to each leader until it reached Jammes. He also added, "This document contains proof of their willing participation as well," to which Jammes simply nodded and said, ''Good, thank you.''
After a short but deep scrutiny of the document, Jammes affirmed, "I confirm the authenticity of this document, Vice Leader Kal. We can put those four names on the list of the participants.''
''Great, that's two done, 24 more to go. Continue."
With that said, Jammes proceeded with his harsh task without a halt.
"Paul Artena, leader of the faction named 'Transcendent Palace', do you wish to participate?"
And it went on and on like that... for a long 2 hours.
"Cassian Korvo, leader of the... do you wish to participate?"
"Zack Gale, so, leader of the Mystic Wind Sect, are you participating?''
"Felix Voss... of the Shadow Syndicate... participate?"
"Jasmine, leader of the Phoenix and Dragon Empire, are you participating?''
''Ava Lux..."
"Astrae Thorne, leader of the... are you...? If you are, then tell me directly your selected martial artists, please.''
"Noel..."
"Leader of.."
"Are you participating...''
On and on...
Although it was only 26 factions, they didn't expect it to take this long. The first two leaders were fast to react, but not everyone was. How naive they were to believe there would be no issues along the way...
This system was also so fucking inefficient, they could have simply asked every participating faction leader to put the name of their four selected martial artists and send it through a chat. Doing everything here and now was taking too much time—much more than it should. The only advantage of this was the assurance of no information being forgotten.
"Alright, Heavenly Pandemonium. The floor is yours, Aiden.'' Jammes did not waste time, as he indicated to Aiden that it was his time to speak.
''Thanks, Jammes. Heavenly Pandemonium will participate; we can't miss such an opportunity to hone ourselves. The participants will be Xavier Gart, Neo Carter, Andrew Philips, and me, Aiden Glain.''
None of the first three names were well-known, and nobody reacted to them. Since it was a faction leader giving his participant's name list, there was nothing special in this. But the fourth name that was pronounced belonged to the leader himself.
As he said his name, everyone seemed to have skipped a beat, and their eyes were wide open in shock.
''Wait, leader Aiden, are you saying that you will yourself be participating in this competition? Not that it is against the rules or anything, but I find it rather surprising; isn't that dangerous?'' Demanded the worried Francis Dern, just before Willow Yeon, leader of the Divine Ascension Sect, voiced his concern as well.
''Indeed, it seems rather risky. Not that I want to underestimate you; I do not know your true strength after all. But, during duels, everything can happen, and if you get hurt, it would be bad for your faction." Upon hearing Willow's doubt, Aiden couldn't help but show off a little.
"Well, I understand everyone's concern about both my safety and my faction's well-being. But do not worry since my participation is no foolish act but rather a great opportunity to prove myself." Aiden commented just as he opened his status window for everyone to see, intentionally making it bigger and only showing his fake combat power.
[Status window]: 'Aiden Glain, 17Y, Male']
[Social Status: 'Leader of Region 7']
[Number of followers in total]: '4972' [Combat power: 70]
Every leader's eyes glowed with genuine wonder and awe; such an insane combat power for a faction leader was unheard of. In fact, it was even one of the greatest numbers that they had ever seen.
"I understand now; your strength is not to be underestimated, Leader Aiden." Spoke Francis, bewildered by the sight of such strength.
Some leaders and followers of Aiden, as well as other leaders' followers, began to clap, praising his strength. Everyone here knew Aiden as someone who was not very active in his faction management because he spent most of his time training, but never had they ever imagined that he would be this strong.
Aiden handed the document showing the proof of the participant's willing participation too, and after all the voices fell into silence, it was time for the last faction leader to give his answer.
''Now, last leader, hm... Willow Yeon, leader of the divine Ascension Sect, do you participate?"
Willow accepted and gave his participant's name as well as proof of their attendance as all the others did. This concluded the first part of the meeting.
The former blank, white piece of paper, on which the name of each selected martial artist from each faction was supposed to be put, was now filled.
Here is how it looked.
Faction name - Winter Garden - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Golden-Sun Kingdom - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Transcendent Palace - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Obsidian Blade Guild - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Celestial Lotus Sect - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Dark Society - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Mystic Wind Sect - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Crimson Moon Order - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Shadow Syndicate - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Vermilion Flame Sect - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Emerald Crown Society - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Phoenix and Dragon Empire - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Twilight Covenant - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Eternal Horizon Clan - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Thunderstrike Legion - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Radiant Dawn Sect - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Extreme Transformation Palace - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Stormwatch Citadel - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Starlight Dominion - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Ironclad Bastion - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Sapphire Enclave - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Ivory Tower Alliance - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Abyssal Sovereignty - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Silver Heart Domain - Participation status 'No'
Faction name - Heavenly Pandemonium - Participation status 'Yes'
Faction name - Divine Ascension Sect - Participation status 'Yes'
In total, 16 factions were participating. This was the perfect number since each faction had to pick 4 martial artists, so it made up 64 participants.
When this was all done, Jammes thanked all the leaders for their staunch participation and preparations. As Jammes passed the torch to Clark for the next part of the meeting, I intervened and proposed a pause of 10 minutes to not bore everyone to death by never stopping politics.
As soon as I made my proposal loud and clear, everyone's face turned bright, and their eyes shone with agreement. We were all nothing but kids after all.
10 minutes later, everyone got back to their seats on their own. Me and Clark were once again caught off guard by the fact that everyone was so obedient, but this was great nonetheless; we couldn't complain.
It was then time to talk about the alliance project.
''So, leader Aiden, I heard this part of the reunion is free-speech opened. It means that we're all free to voice our thoughts and seriously discuss among ourselves with the intent to create friendly relationships between certain factions. Am I right?'' Asked the leader of the Ivory Tower Alliance, genuinely invested in this part of the debate in contrast to the martial arts tournament, I replied, ''Indeed, that is so. However, we can't simply let you discuss among yourselves. On the contrary, we would prefer people who want to be allies to talk aloud, while the others shall not interfere except if they take part in the alliance project discussion in a serious way.''
I continued shortly after I made my statement when I realized some people didn't understand what I meant. ''What I mean is that when both the ivory tower faction and its possible future allies talk, others may remain silent and not talk with them except if they also want to be their allies, or if they can contribute to the discussion by providing information or simply mediate and take part in the debate in a businesslike way. It has to be purposeful.''
After people began to comprehend what I meant, I concluded, ''In this way, it will be clear who are allies and who are not. If such things happen in secret, then how can we help each other properly? I just think such things shouldn't be private but instead public.'
The leader of the Ivory Tower Alliance, Emma White, bowed her head in respect and understanding of my response and said, ''I see, it indeed makes sense.'' I agree that such things should be done in that way. May I be so bold as to ask for every leader here to raise their hands if they agree?''
I immediately made sure that Emma's proposal was accepted: ''I approve of this measure; you can raise your hands in agreement or let it down in disagreement, as per Emma's suggestion.''
Emma nodded in thanks, and following this, all leaders raised their hands. Since no objections had been made, the debate could start.
It briefly started with Emma asking the Sapphire Enclave for a trade route to be made between their two factions. Emma held numerous wood-type resources but lacked iron for forging. And the Sapphire Enclave faction lacked wood but had plenty of iron. This was what building relationships and alliances was all about—helping each other so every faction could develop faster.
Official alliances also meant that both would benefit in strength since one faction could ask for help from its allies.
Maria Azul, leader of the Sapphire Enclave, agreed right away, and no greed had overtaken her mind since she also wanted a fair 50-50 share of materials. But others were not so fair...
Torin Vale, leader of the Ironclad Bastion, wanted to ally with the Extreme Transformation Palace merely to gain access to their revitalizing hot bathe, which could heal wounds and muscle fatigue in one hour instead of days. This was much more efficient than Aiden's dummy secret technique.
The Emerald Crown Society leader, Lysander, then intervened when she realized that Torin had no honest intentions and purely wanted to take advantage of Francis's naivety and generosity.
''You can't expect to become the ally of the Transformation Palace when your intentions are so obscure, Torin.'' She spoke nonchalantly, and Torin replied in not-well-hidden anger, ''What exactly are you implying here? Huh? How am I not honest? I genuinely want to become friends with Francis and an important ally of his faction.''
Noticing a flaw in his response, Lysander took the opportunity to deal him a fatal blow. '' You said it yourself, 'How am I not honest?' I never even mentioned anything about honesty, but it seems you don't consider your own proposition honest. Let me be frank with you for a second; you just want to take advantage of the revitalizing bath in Francis's faction, right?
She paused for a millisecond, just enough time for Torin to respond, ''No, it's n-'' Yet Lysander interrupted him as fast as he had reacted. ''It's not what? Your proposal stinks. You don't care about being allies with him at all. All you want is his faction's artefact. You told him you would lend him some of your men to help gather more materials and build houses to accommodate more people, but do you think it's worth his trust and artefact power?"
Torin's face blanched when Lysander finished her remark; he felt ashamed when people were looking at him with weird looks.
''Also, you did not even propose a material exchange or even explain why you would want to ally with the Extreme Transformation Palace. So, I'm sorry if I was rude to you, but to me, it appears obvious that your intentions are impure.''
The two of them shared some last words before ending the debate, ''Alright, I get it; I won't ally with the transformation palace then. But my intentions were truly clear as jade; I feel hurt that I was misunderstood.'' Said Torin, somewhat emotionally, as if to attract pity. It didn't work, as most simply ignored him.
Other debates and honest alliance projects then began forming after this drama.
Notably, the shadow syndicate allied with Abyssal Sovereignty. The Silver Heart Domain allied with both the Twilight Covenant and the Vermilion Flame Sect. The Mystic Wind Sect with the Emerald Crown Society. The Winter Garden with the Celestial Lotus Sect. And lastly, it was the Divine Ascension Sect with the Phoenix and Dragon Empire.
Now, though, it was time for Heavenly Pandemonium to take part in the debate, as it had refrained from doing so since the beginning.
"Alright, those were probably the most productive hours we've spent so far. Most of you are now stronger, and the alliances you've formed will bring benefits and lasting bonds. But now, it's time for my faction to ask for a little help, hahaha," Aiden joked boldly. His remarks caused 80% of the leaders to either sneer or laugh. Once the laughter settled, Aiden continued and made his first request. "Miss Jasmine, may I be so bold as to propose that our two factions become irreplaceable allies?"
Jasmine chuckled warmly before replying, "Hahaha, you certainly aren't too bold for me to refuse such a generous offer. I agree, but may I ask why you're interested in allying with a weaker faction?''
Aiden smiled and responded, ''I simply appreciate your character and mentality, and you seem to be an honest and pure-hearted woman. What I want from this alliance isn't strength but an honest and pure relationship with you and your people.'' He paused, meeting Jasmine's gaze. She smiled, clearly intrigued.
He continued, "I want healthy relations with my allies. I'm not looking for strength through despicable means. We're humans, after all, and we can't let greed cloud our judgment. What I want from you is nothing but a good bond."
Jasmine nodded approvingly and replied, ''And you've just gained that good bond. It's a pleasure to be an ally of the Heavenly Pandemonium faction, Sir Aiden.''
Aiden appeared solemn for a brief moment but naturally smiled right after hearing her comforting words. ''The pleasure is mine, Miss Jasmine.''
Next, Aiden turned his attention to the leader of the Extreme Transformation Palace and made his second proposition.
''Francis Dern, would you be willing to be allies with me? You're the foreign leader I've spoken with the most here, aside from Miss Jasmine, and I quite like your person. Our factions are also geographically close to each other, and I believe an alliance would be mutually beneficial. As for resource exchange, we can discuss that anytime—our storage room is filled with plenty of weird but useful stuff.''
Francis chuckled at Aiden's casual remark and answered, "Forget resources. I've observed your character since we've been here, and I like your person too. I'd be honored to be your friend and ally. Let's make it official."
Hearing this response, Aiden beamed with satisfaction. Mostly because he also had a minor, ulterior motive to become allies with him. ''Wonderful, hearing this makes me overjoyed.'' With that, the second part of the meeting concluded, as no further alliance proposals were made by any other leaders.
As Aiden and his companions ensured the formalities ended, some people began to leave. However, the friendlier leaders lingered to chat with their new allies and other leaders.
For them, Aiden and Kal had prepared in advance a small banquet, a medieval-type barbecue, with a variety of delicious meats from Heavenly Pandemonium's storage.
Some leaders indulged in the food right away, while others took their time, engaging in conversation. Members occasionally approached their leaders or others, and some even tried their luck courting two of the most beautiful female leaders, Jasmine and Noel Noctis, the leader of Abyssal Sovereignty.
Noel, appearing even stricter and more serious than Jasmine, quickly grew irritated by the naive boys' advances. Aiden noticed the situation escalating as one of the boys made a particularly inappropriate remark, suggesting he would pay Noel to sleep with him.
Aiden stepped in, interposing himself between the boys and the women. ''How about you pay me so I sleep with you instead, huh? How'd like you that?'' he asked disdainfully.
The boy stammered, clearly surprised and frightened. "A-Aiden.. what are you doing here? We were just peacefully chatting with our two leaders' friends; no need to get heated." The boy stuttered in fear; he had not seen Aiden coming at all.
Noel, enraged, snapped back, ''Who the hell is your friend, you little prick? Get out of my sight; otherwise, I'll have you hanged.''
Jasmine, sensing Noel's rising anger, gently placed her hand on her shoulder, calming her down.
With Aiden's presence, the two women felt empowered to respond without fear of intimidation. The boys, now deeply ashamed, stood silently as the tension in the air thickened.
"Alright, that's enough, ladies. I think these kids have learned their lesson. Let's not waste any more time here. Instead, just follow me back to the garden next to the main hall building—there's a barbecue with a bunch of good grilled meat.'' Aiden suggested, defusing the situation.
Jasmine and Noel gave the boys one final, icy glare before happily following Aiden.
"Thank you for helping us out, leader Aiden. I see Miss Jasmine has great taste in men..." Noel couldn't finish her sentence as Jasmine cut her off.
''Hum, hm...''
''Oho, I didn't say anything. I was just joking, Princess Jasmine.''
Aiden laughed loudly when he heard the timid interaction they had; he felt good as if his body was floating on clouds.
The boys were left shamed and alone and could only watch the backs of the three leaders going to eat tasty foods.
One of them lost it and decided to try and go there too, but Aiden had anticipated such an attitude.
''Hey Xavier, just in case one of the three boys down here tries to come up here, stop them, please. They disrespected two leaders, so show no mercy.'' Aiden asked the giant and former strongest member of Heavenly Pandemonium.
''No problem, leader Aiden. They won't make it past this staircase even in their dream.'' Xavier responded with a luminous smile on his face, itching for a fight. Moreso, a massacre instead of a fight.
No need to say more; the man who had utterly insulted Noel with his proposition ran.
When he reached the stairs going uphill, he was directly stopped by Xavier, who punched him in the nose.
The man rolled three meters back down.
Some leaders who had witnessed this were deeply shocked, but Aiden quickly waved away their concern as he explained the situation. Now all of them agreed with Xavier's action.
The two other boys carried their unconscious friend back, never to be seen again.
Everything was now solved, and the remaining foreign leaders were enjoying themselves. As the sun began going down, Aiden eclipsed himself as he wanted to verify his status. This time, entirely.
He reached an outdoor balcony up a hidden stairway behind the castle's main hall, and admiring the view and scent of the whimsical ambiance, he opened his status window.
[Status window]: 'Aiden Glain, 17Y, Male'
[Social Status: 'Leader of Region 7'
[Number of followers in total]: '4972'
[Martial Arts user: Boxing 'High Tier Expert' - Wing Chun 'Mid Tier Expert' - Dim Mak 'High Tier Expert' - Karate 'Mid Tier proficient' - Taekwondo 'High Tier Proficient' - Muay Tai 'Low Tier Proficient' - Kickboxing 'Mid Tier amateur']
[Battle Score: 81]
This surreal sight had first been beholden by Aiden for a short moment during the meeting, just before he faked his status window battle score. This was something he had learned by reaching four thousand members. It seemed like every leader, and only the leaders who had over four thousand members could slightly change their true strength. Aiden couldn't go below 65.
As Aiden pondered contemplative and fathomless thoughts, his body entered a trance. He still couldn't understand how everything that had happened until now was possible, and even those 3 months weren't enough for him to fully accept his situation.
But as he submerged his mind into a sea of melancholy and questions, a tap on his shoulder brought him back to the land of the living.
''J-Jasmine...what are you doing here?''
''Oh, nothing much; I simply thought that I'd come to see you because it had been half an hour since you were gone.''
Aiden stressfully deactivated his status window, realizing too late that it had been visible to the exterior public, so to Jasmine. He had forgotten to turn off the function after displaying his fake strength during the reunion.
Jasmine noticed the tension etched across his face and the darkness that seemed to cloud his eyes, so she stepped closer. Her voice softened as she tried to comfort Aiden. "You don't have to be so guarded around me, right, Aiden? I may not fully understand why you're hiding your true strength or even how you've managed to achieve such incredible combat prowess, including knowing so many martial arts—but I do know one thing: you need to take care of yourself. You need to stop punishing yourself."
Aiden's expression hardened as the weight of his thoughts cast a shadow over him. But Jasmine refused to be deterred. She gently placed a hand on his arm, grounding him in the moment. "I won't tell anyone what I saw here, I promise. But I'm worried about you. First, the way you seem to break apart your body when you train, and now this... hiding your strength, distancing yourself from everyone. It's like you're carrying a burden alone, and you don't have to. You can trust us, Aiden. You can trust me."
Her lingering words seemed to cool down Aiden's burning body, still not fully refreshed from his last death and life training. Her words were like a plea, casting a beacon of light that enlightened him and made the shadow that he had cast around him disappear.
''It's getting late, Jasmine. Let's go back to the garden.''
Aiden's heart wobbled as if a piercing wind had made it bleed.
''Yes, Aiden. I will accompany you back; you can hold my hand.''
Jasmine's heart trembled as if an otherwordly force had squeezed forcefully.
The air thinned, the moon shone over the sleepy sun, and the swaying shadow cast a devious and jealous grin as he set his eyes on two hands firmly clasped together. The tension loosened, and the stars lit the pathway to the grilling Eden.
Hand in hand again, they both had questions and doubts, but in their harmony, their hearts settled on a passionate route.