As Aiden neared his destination, the forest grew unnaturally silent, a tense calm that prickled his skin. But then, from the depths of that silence, came a sudden eruption of voices—whispers and shrieks that echoed in his mind, each one piercing, filled with agony.
The voices grew louder, a cacophony of tortured souls, their cries wrapping around him, suffocating and relentless. Aiden instinctively clasped his hands over his ears, hoping to muffle the sound, but it did nothing.
The voices pushed past his defenses, echoing from within, flooding his senses—as if the sound was coming from within his own mind, seeping into every corner of his thoughts.
It was overwhelming, a torrent of agony and despair that felt inescapable, like it was etched directly into his consciousness.
Just as he was gritting his teeth, desperate for the noise to end, one voice rose above the others, cutting through the chaos like a knife.
"The one… here… Master… here…"
The words rang out with a clarity that froze him in place.
"… focus… to the voice," it urged, steady and insistent.
Aiden blinked, trying to zero in on it, but the cacophony around him only grew louder, more frantic, as if resisting his attempts to focus. The single voice repeated, firmer, almost pleading now:
"focus…"
The urgency pressed against him, demanding his attention, yet his thoughts felt like a storm, scattered and slipping away. The command echoed again, louder, surging through the chaos with a strange power that pulled at him. Aiden gritted his teeth, fighting against the turmoil, struggling to steady his mind, to listen.
"Master... focus… to the voice."
As Aiden strained to center himself, the voices around him shifted, as if the thousand voice saying the same thing. What had been an overwhelming chorus of screams and whispers suddenly coalesced, their chaotic tones aligning, melding into a single, unified chant.
"Focus... "
"Focus.. focus.. "
"Focus... "
The word echoed endlessly, each repetition fueling a strange energy within him. The more he directed his concentration, the tighter the voices fused, becoming louder, clearer, merging into a single, commanding voice. It reverberated through him, anchoring him, demanding his full attention.
Then, finally, everything fell silent—except for one voice, resonant and powerful, echoing in his mind, piercing through the darkness with crystalline clarity.
"Focus!"
As Aiden's focus narrowed to that single, commanding voice, he felt the pressure lift, his surroundings settling into an eerie calm. He gasped, drawing in a sharp breath, as if he'd been underwater for far too long.
His heart pounded, the memory of the relentless cacophony still fresh in his mind.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking against the dim light of the forest. Standing before him, nearly close enough to touch, was the figure of a man. But it was no ordinary spirit.
The apparition had no distinct features; its face was a hazy blur, as if reality couldn't quite pin it down.
Its clothing, too, was undefined, shifting in and out of form like mist caught in a cold breeze. There was something unsettlingly unreal about it, as though the spirit struggled to fully exist in his presence.
Aiden's pulse quickened as he took in the sight, instinctively stepping back. The figure tilted its head slightly, observing him, or so it seemed, despite the lack of visible eyes.
"You… why are you a kid?" the voice whispered, its tone a low, hollow echo that seemed to seep from within Aiden's mind.
Aiden blinked, thrown off by the unexpected question. Of all the things he'd anticipated hearing from a faceless spirit, this wasn't it.
He bristled slightly, feeling the familiar surge of irritation he'd tried to suppress since coming to this world.
"Does it matter?" he replied, his voice tinged with annoyance. "This is just how things… turned out."
The spirit seemed to flicker, as if considering his response, though the blurred figure betrayed no emotion.
"Yeah, maybe that's how it turned out. No matter," it said, its tone shifting to something almost indifferent.
"Since you carry the souls of a sovereign… form is just a form."
Aiden's eyes narrowed, processing the words.
"Souls of a sovereign?"
The spirit inclined its faceless head slightly, an acknowledgment in its stance.
"Yes, sovereign of death," it replied,
"You wield the power that commands the departed, binds souls, and defies mortality itself."
Aiden shrugged, his voice casual.
"Oh, a necromancer? Yeah, I guess I do," he replied,
barely acknowledging the gravity of the spirit's words, his tone light as if he were discussing something as ordinary as the weather.
The spirit paused, seeming to waver in place. For a moment, the air hung thick with a silence more powerful than any words it might have spoken. Then, without a word, the spirit turned and drifted forward, its movements slow and deliberate, as if urging the boy to follow.
Aiden hesitated only briefly, feeling a tug, part curiosity, part something else, compelling him to walk behind the spectral figure.
They walked for a few minutes, Aiden's eyes scanning the dense forest as they went deeper, until the spirit finally stopped in front of an unusual stone formation.
The stone stood upright, natural yet eerily symmetrical, like an ancient gate carved by time and nature itself. Aiden marveled at its beauty and structure, admiring the way it seemed to frame the surrounding forest.
But before he could fully process it, the stone began to shimmer, and within its frame, a swirling portal formed. Sickly green and dark gray tendrils spun within, shifting in an endless, hypnotic loop, as if waiting for someone to step inside.
Aiden blinked, unable to believe his eyes. He'd known magic existed, but seeing it up close, in such a raw and powerful form, was beyond anything he'd imagined.
The spirit turned to him, gesturing silently, its blurred hand sweeping toward the portal as if to say, 'Enter.'
Aiden glanced at the spirit, his brow furrowing slightly.
"You sure it's safe?" he asked, half-expecting no reply, but deep down, he already knew the answer.
An inexplicable pull tugged at his core, a feeling beyond mere curiosity. His instinct whispered that not only was it safe, but something inside was calling to him, something essential that he couldn't ignore.
The spirit gave no response, only maintaining its silent, steady gesture toward the portal, waiting for him to make the choice. Aiden took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the unknown before stepping forward.
He reached a hand out, the swirling portal stretching before him like a dark promise. And then, with a final glance at the spirit, he stepped into the sickly green and gray vortex, letting it swallow him whole.
As Aiden vanished into the swirling depths of the portal, the spirit's blurred, faceless figure flickered momentarily. Subtle yet unmistakable, the edges of what might have been its mouth curved upward, forming a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
For just a moment, it seemed that even in its ethereal form, the spirit held a trace of satisfaction, as if this was the very outcome it had been waiting for.
Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the smile faded, leaving the spirit standing once more in silent watchfulness as the portal closed behind the boy.