"You're joking. Right?" Aiden felt everything to be a joke, a pathetic prank the man before him was playing with him. Otherwise, who would want to be stuck with ghosts for the rest of their lives?
Aiden was adventurous and bold. Sure. But it wasn't to the extent that he'd disregard his life and have a kitty party with ghosts. No, thank you. He preferred living a life of solitude than having ghosts as his guests.
"Umm...no," Darius shook his head and sighed softly. "Look, Aiden. It isn't as bad as you think."
"No. It isn't." Aiden scoffed and Darius nodded, only to stop when he heard the young man's next words. "It's worse. It's horrible."
"Aiden..."
"Just imagine you're sleeping and suddenly, woken up by intruders. Who are they? Ghosts. Hello, Aiden. I dropped by to give you a heart attack in the middle of the night. How amazing!" Aiden was trembling in rage. Gone was the scaredy cat who wanted to run for his life when he first saw Darius.
"It sure isn't wonderful now that I imagine it," Darius mumbled.
"See." Aiden raised his hands and Darius reprimanded himself for getting carried away.
'I need to be careful," Darius thought as he examined Aiden. 'I was supposed to persuade him. Instead, I ended up being convinced by his strange thought process. Smart kid.'
"Aiden, it's not as bad as you think. Sure, you may have your quirks with the ghosts, but not all are bad. And, if you control your powers well, you can manipulate them to your will."
That gained Aiden's attention and he gave Darius a cryptic look.
"Manipulate? How?"
"For instance, you can scare anyone you want."
Aiden rolled his eyes in dismay. It wasn't that great a benefit considering the risk his life would be in.
Seeing that Aiden wasn't convinced, Darius continued, "You can aid in investigations and help people get justice."
Now, this got Aiden's attention. Who didn't want to be a superhero? But he didn't show it on his face and maintained a poker expression while waiting for Darius to state other benefits of his powers.
"Let me tell you a secret." Darius beckoned Aiden close to him and Aiden too moved forward, forgetting that no one could see or hear Darius other than him.
"What secret?" Aiden looked at him hopefully.
"Among all the blessed people today or will be blessed today, your power is the most formidable."
"Why do you say so?"
"After that unfortunate incident a thousand years ago, the link that connected the Valkorin clan to its descendants was broken. The powers awakened today are not even ten percent of what one possessed a thousand years ago. However..." Darius stopped and pursed his lips.
"However?" Aiden probed, urging him to continue.
"However, your power may not be on the same level as theirs," Darius thought as he tapped his chin.
"What do you mean?" Aiden couldn't fathom a word he was saying.
"I will not speak unless I confirm it first. Rest assured, your powers aren't terrible. At least, they aren't the worst that will be awakened today," Darius promised.
Aiden wasn't satisfied. But he discerned from the man's expression that he wouldn't get anything else from him.
"Are you done asking me questions?" Darius smiled suddenly and alarms went off in Aiden's mind instantly.
"I.."
"Good," Darius intervened, a playful glint flashing in his eyes. "Since you have awakened your powers, why don't you start utilizing them?"
"I don't think it's a good idea." Aiden took a step back in caution. Darius' expression told that he was up to no good.
"Why not?" Darius frowned, not understanding the reason behind Aiden's hesitation. Since he could now see spirits, it was time for him to meet his ancestors. After all, they too deserved to know what kind of power the kid had awakened.
"I don't think I want to meet more ghosts. I'm already spooked by you. I don't think my poor heart can bear more shock today." Aiden patted his heart and Darius blinked at him a few times before he exploded with laughter.
"Aiden, kid, you seem to be in your late teens, but you speak like an old man. You humor me."
'That was definitely not my intention.' Aiden rolled his eyes toward the sky, cursing his luck once again. "You can continue laughing. I'm going." He waved at him and moved to leave the place.
"Hey, wait." Darius appeared before him again, forcing him to halt in his spot. "You can't leave like that."
"Why can't I?" Aiden frowned, not liking Darius' audacity anymore.
"You need to meet someone before you leave," Darius declared, leaving Aiden no room to refuse.
"No way. Nope."
"At least, meet him first. He might know a thing or two about your situation. If he can't assist you or you still feel antsy after meeting him you may leave. I won't prohibit you from leaving, I promised."
Aiden was skeptical. Could he believe the ghost before him? Was he trustworthy?
First of all, could ghosts be trusted?
Aiden recalled all the horror movies he had seen and none of the ghosts in them were good. In the end, all they wanted was to kill people and Aiden felt a chill pass down his spine as he imagined bloody scenarios where Darius pushed him to his death.
"What are you thinking, kid?" Darius waved his hands before Aiden, stupefied by his gaze. 'Why does it seem like Aiden has been struck dumb? Is that the word?' he wondered recalling his updated vocabulary.
"I was wondering if there was a way for me to escape from you without getting caught by you," Aiden replied honestly.
Darius grinned at him cheekily and Aiden had all the intention to punch his annoying face.
'Can someone tell me if I will survive after I punch a ghost?' Aiden wondered and thought of posting it online to get replies. But thought otherwise when he realized he couldn't even touch Darius, punching him was far away.
"Kid, shall we go?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"With me, no. With other ghosts? I don't know."
'Looks like I'm fucked!' Aiden ascertained and all his excitement and hope from before shattered completely. "Where are we going?"
"I want you to meet someone. Well, a few people to be honest. They might shed light on your bizarre predicament."
"Why don't you sound like an old man? After all, you belong to the era ten thousand years ago. If not for your weird attire, I'd never have assumed to be a ghost."
Darius stopped walking, forcing Aiden to pause as well. "Again, I am a spirit, not a ghost. As for my style of speaking, let's say I am up to date in life. I can't remain in the past and be outdated, can I?"
Aiden gave him a nonchalant look and shook his head, wondering where Darius got his sense of humor from. His jokes were pathetic.
When they resumed walking, Aiden realized that they weren't taking the main entrance. Instead, they had taken one of the side doors which surprisingly opened automatically as soon as Darius waved his hand.
"Before your thoughts run wild, I'm taking you to Astral Flame ancestral shrine. The person I am taking you to meet is at the shrine."
"Who? May I ask?"
Darius' lips arched up into a smirk and he glanced at Aiden who was looking at him curiously.
"Eryndor Valkorin, the man who founded our sect."