In a vibrant and enchanting forest filled with red roses, Aaron began to reconstruct Teyat's artificially erased memories, slowly introducing him to fundamental truths.
As Teyat grasped these basic facts, he found them horrifying. Aaron sat at the base of a tree surrounded by a circle of roses. Looking directly at Teyat, he picked a rose from the bushes and gazed at him as if he had lost all hope for his fate and future. Teyat then sat down on a large stone right beside where Aaron was.
As evening turned to twilight, the sky changed, and stars adorned the night like small, colorful dots. In this era, which Teyat thought lacked modern technology, he gazed at the moon, partially obscured by elegant clouds, with a sense of peace and bewilderment.
Aaron observed Teyat's calm expression, then lifted his head to share that tranquility with the sky.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "I look up at the sky... and I see the work of an indistinct creator, far removed from human hands."
Their peaceful gazes remained fixed on the sky. After a moment, Aaron shifted his attention to the roses illuminated by the moonlight.
He continued, "I look down at the earth and see the ugliness created by humanity."
Aaron's desperate words echoed in Teyat's ears, leaving a profound impact. Breaking a brief silence, Teyat asked, "It seems that your hatred for humanity has consumed you, hasn't it?"
Aaron, still looking at the roses, turned his gaze to Teyat and replied in a normal tone, "At one time, yes. And that's why I now serve the Lord."
"What? Are you doomed to a lifetime of slavery just because of hatred? Can you explain?" Teyat asked in disbelief.
Aaron's pale, cold face brightened slightly at Teyat's astonished words. "Your memories are truly erased. It is my duty to rebuild them."
Teyat nodded in acknowledgment.
With a continued smile on his face, Aaron said, "Low-negative spirits... These spirits are often fed by negative emotions and belong to certain scales of those feelings. Low-negative spirits are the easiest to control. The 'Lord of Roses,' a bandit lord I once saw as a child, forces us to raid towns and villages, manipulating people for his own benefit. He makes families watch their children be killed before taking them himself. By instilling negative emotions like hatred, anger, and trauma in these children, he controls their souls and turns them into bandits like us. In short, individuals with negative emotions can be easily manipulated by the spirit manipulators of the Fourth Set. I am one of those low-negative spirits. Similarly, my small town and family were also raided..." he explained.
"Fourth Set? Spirit manipulators? Huh?"
As Teyat was about to ask these questions, he suddenly paused.
Aaron's smile had long vanished, replaced by an invisible sadness. Seeing that expression, Teyat refrained from asking more questions.
"Before my eyes, not just my family but hundreds of innocent people were slaughtered with lies, and those who remained innocent were burdened with negative emotions, their souls controlled and dragged into slavery. The controlled spirits often came from the lower class."
Teyat struggled to find words to respond to Aaron's painful past, managing only to say, "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry."
Aaron's painful history left Teyat in silence; he had never experienced such things in his previous life. He had never felt the need to make friends or tried sharing his emotions with others. Thus, he didn't know how to respond in this situation.
Both characters reflected for a moment on their painful pasts. The echoes of those thoughts enveloped the surroundings in silence, apart from the sounds of birds, the wind, and the leaves. As the heir to darkness, Teyat continued to ask questions to clarify his doubts.
"Anyway, I understand what you've said and how you feel... What if we return to the topic?"
Aaron nodded in agreement. Teyat continued, "So, is spirit scaling only related to low-negative spirits? I'm sure there's more."
At this question, Aaron stood up from where he was sitting under the tree.
Remembering Aaron's harsh past, Teyat also got up. The two made their way back to the campsite. Along the way, Aaron continued to fill in Teyat's missing information.
"In addition to low-negative spirits, there are also medium-neutral and high-positive spirits. Medium and high-scale spirits are much harder to control compared to low spirits. These two types harbor neutral and positive emotions in their auras. Finally, to my understanding, there are various processes for controlling or destroying spirits. However, the only thing we know is that spirits are offered to unknown beings through a ritual called 'Altar.' We have no other function outside this duty; like the other captives. My limited knowledge comes from these restrictions. It is limited to this forest. We do not know what lies outside; the basic information here is restricted to documents and books."
As Aaron continued to provide information, Teyat listened attentively. After a long silence, Teyat spoke again, "Why do you offer people's spirits to unknown beings through the 'Altar'? Is there a reason for that?"
"No. I told you to listen, didn't I? Anyway, our only duty is to carry out the orders given to us. The purpose of our slavery is not to question what we do. If we attempt to rebel or do anything that could harm those who control our spirits, we are immediately stopped by the commands implanted in our minds. Otherwise, we could have escaped this cursed forest long ago. Do you understand now?"
Yes, Teyat still hadn't fully grasped everything because Aaron had defined himself as a slave, but he understood the basic information. He planned to experience and learn the rest for himself. Knowing he had escaped the previous condition of slavery through the transition of his soul into this body, he tried to refrain from asking more questions and drawing attention. For now, he decided to be content with the fundamental information and save everything else for the future.
But there was one question he was most curious about.
"Thank you for patiently answering my questions. But there's one last question that troubles me: Who am I?"
Aaron looked at Teyat with a slightly weary expression, as if tired from sharing information.
"As far as I know, you're a lost fool who has fallen into the 'Victim Roses' forest. And you are a slave."
"Well, I have to admit I'm a fool..."
Teyat replied with a hint of embarrassment and a smile.
"Oh, yes, now I remember what I was. My memories are slowly returning."
Hearing himself referred to as a slave, Teyat focused on thinking about his name, pretending not to have heard it.
"Okay, I understand... So, what is my name? Do you know?"
"Drew."
"What?"
"Your name is Drew."
Teyat's face lit up as if a light bulb had gone off in his mind.
"Yes, I remember my name too... I told you, it's temporary amnesia. The pieces are slowly falling into place."
A smile appeared on Aaron's face for some unknown reason.
"So, you're slowly remembering what happened, right? You're doing well."
"Yes, I am gradually regaining the memories and information I lost."
Aaron saw a smile on Teyat's face that he had never seen before.
He returned the gesture with a big, genuine smile.
"How beautiful."