Eryndor Valkorin.
Aiden remembered him. After all, he had founded the Astral Flame sect. Aiden had a vague idea about the man from the history books related to their sect.
To think that he would be meeting the revered man, Aiden couldn't help but feel elated and skittish at the same. His palms turned clammy in an instant while his thoughts ran wild.
"Hold your horses there, kid. Don't assume anything before you test the truth yourself." As if reading Aiden's mind, Darius stopped him on time as he led him through a path where no humans were present.
Just because there weren't any humans other than Aiden didn't mean there weren't others present.
Aiden stiffened suddenly when he felt a pair of eyes scrutinizing him, and he darted his eyes around. Cold sweat trickled down his spine until his shirt was drenched, and then he noticed not one, not two, but three people, or spirits he must say, staring at him curiously.
From their attires alone, he was certain they were spirits, just like Darius.
"Interesting," one of the men among the two muttered and leaped into the sky before landing right in front of Aiden, while the lady and the other man just looked on thoughtfully.
"So you can see us," he declared as the other two approached them as well.
"Old man, why did you block this kid's path? For a moment, I thought he had run away," Darius complained as he gave the three a sulky face.
Darius had been happily escorting Aiden towards the shrine. Who knew that the boy had stopped following him long ago? In a hurry, he retracted his footsteps, only to find Aiden in what seemed like a confrontation.
"Does he belong to our sect?" The man wasn't perturbed and kept studying Aiden.
Aiden stepped away from him, uneasiness filling his heart when he met the three 'ghosts' starry eyes. 'Why are they looking at me as if I am an object of experimentation? Are they going to dissect me next?'
"He does." Darius nodded, pride replacing his sullen face.
"Where are you taking him?"
"To Elder's shrine. His powers are quite unique. We want to have a word with the Elder."
"We'll accompany you."
'Umm... can I reject?' Aiden wasn't sure he could handle four ghosts at the same time. He was already perturbed with one. He would lose his mind if the other three joined.
"Fine. But old man, don't scare this kid."
"What is your name, son?" The man's brown hair fluttered with the wind as he flashed Aiden a kind smile.
However, to Aiden, it looked super creepy and the man resembled nothing less than a kidnapper who lured children with cookies and sweets.
Aiden controlled his expression as he forced his name out.
"Valkorin, you say?" The man mused, his smile stretching to his ears. "The young surely surpasses the old. Eryndor will be ecstatic to meet you. I am Thyric Demari."
"I am Hestia Orlaith," the only woman in the group introduced herself.
"And I am Sylvar Orlaith, her husband," the remaining man said, pointing towards the lady beside him.
Hestia rolled her eyes and looked up, unable to tolerate her husband's public display of affection.
Aiden was taken aback to see how gentle and easygoing the three were. Where were the arrogance and superciliousness he had assumed the elders to have? And why were they looking at him with such kind and loving eyes?
Loving? Aiden felt as though he was imagining things, and shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"If all the introductions are done, can we proceed, please? I am certain Aiden is terrified and is looking for one opportunity to slip away and escape from us. Before he starts a full-fledged sprint in fear, shall we take him to Elder Eryndor?" Darius intervened, breaking the strange atmosphere and Aiden had never been this grateful towards anyone before.
"Brat, you are as impudent as ever." Thyric glared at Darius who shrugged in return.
Once again, Aiden's worldview was overturned. Other than their clothes, their way of speaking, their mannerisms, even their temperament didn't seem like they belonged to an era ten thousand years ago. If he didn't know any better, he'd have assumed them to be a few decades older than him, not a few millenniums.
"Aiden, shall we go meet Eryndor, son?"
Aiden noticed that the man had called the Elder by his name.
'Are they close in age? And why are the husband and wife silent? What's cooking in their minds?'
Hestia and Sylvar hadn't spoken a word after introducing themselves. They remained silent, allowing Thyric to hold all the conversation. However, not once had they stopped smiling as they looked at Aiden as if he were their long-lost grandson.
Aiden felt goosebumps emerge on his skin and he turned to Darius immediately.
"Kid, you don't have to look at me with fearful eyes. We are all good spirits. We won't eat you."
"Darius," Thyric warned and Darius clicked his tongue.
"Fine, fine. You don't have a chill bone in you, old man. Loosen up a little, will you?"
'Chill bone? Is that even a term?' Aiden wondered but didn't dare correct Darius.
Unbeknownst to what was running in Aiden's mind, Darius turned around and started walking again, prompting the others to mimic his actions.
With the couple at the back and Darius in the front, Aiden was stuck with an over-enthusiastic Thyric, who hadn't stopped asking him questions.
"Aiden, how old are you?"
"Nineteen," Aiden replied honestly.
"Good, good. For now, you can only see spirits. Am I right?"
Aiden nodded and none of the four spirits took his actions as disrespect. The poor kid had recently awakened his powers and met them for the first time. They had to give him time to adjust.
After a few more minutes of walking, the group reached the ancestral shrine, and surprisingly, Aiden didn't find anyone in the vicinity. But that didn't mean he was unaffected by the suppression he felt all of a sudden.
Aiden felt his chest constrict with every step he took towards the shrine and Thyric had to hold him to prevent him from collapsing.
"Darius, at this rate, Aiden will not be able to make it to the shrine. Inform Eryndor about us first. I will handle him until then," Thyric ordered and Darius who had stopped to take a look at Aiden nodded before he vanished from everyone's sight.