Chapter 52: Stylish Crimson

’So this is the place, huh?’

He smiled, but quickly covered it up so the others didn’t see it. But really, it made him feel at home knowing that the Sun’s development would be done in this place. It gave him hope that if it was able to become something while inside here, then he also can become someone even after he goes back to the Withered.

It was a small house, made mostly out of moss-covered wood; its roof had a giant hole in it, but since it never rained, it didn’t quite matter. Plus, he already said it made him feel at home. He was used to it.

If they had chosen a bunker, then he would still have been fine with it, knowing it probably helped Avrie in a way, but living in sophisticated structures was much to his liking anymore. Ironic since, when he was a child, he lived inside a massive castle.

Entering, he saw that the place was empty. Avrie and Elpis had probably cleared the place for the Sun, for when it grew. He didn’t know how or why it grew, but he knew someone who probably did; they knew everything about cores.

“Hey Avrie, why do cores get bigger when they get essence? Is it the same for us?”

She turned to him, smiling, happy to share information with someone who was willing to learn about what she loved and cared about so much. Back when she was a child, she only had her mother, she was who also taught her everything. But after she had died, she was left without a master and someone to talk to. Her father didn’t pay her any attention, and he became violent every time he came home from going to drink with his friends.

Even after Elpis had saved her from his grasp, she still didn’t have anyone. Every other child her age used to say that she was boring or crazy. It had become better after awakening, being able to see the threads of life, that was how she called them, helped her quite a lot when it came to her work. And had already gotten used to being alone.

But now, it was different; she had someone interested in her work, her own little disciple, you could say.

She was glad… There was someone who stopped to listen.

“Yeah, it is.”

She pointed to the middle of her torso, directly where the human core was situated.

“Cores get bigger whenever they get a lot of essence. They need the space to stock everything, and so they just get bigger.”

Aether nodded, bringing his hand to his chin.

“It makes sense. It’s like a balloon, the more water you put inside, the bigger it gets.”

He really felt like he learned new things every day in Frozen Crown, if days and nights existed that is.

But Avrie wasn’t done with her explanation.

“For us humans, it’s the same, but it goes back to its normal size when we ascend, because they become more powerful. Our cores are also at their peak whenever we reach enlightenment.”

Aether laughed, a little embarrassed, his example with the balloon not really being true, but either way, it was fascinating.

Avrie put the Sun on the ground, grabbed the dagger Aether had stolen a while back, and cut her arm slightly, her blood dripping on the Sun. But even though it hurt, she couldn’t help but smile; she was too happy to mind the pain, and she was still not done teaching her student.

“Now, Cores aren’t durable enough to contain the essence, which is why if we didn’t have threads, and it all bottled up inside them. We would- ” She brought two of her fingers to her neck, gesturing that it was slit, and in the end dying. “you know?

Aether nooded, a little faster because he had gotten a little frightened at that thought.

Hadn’t she said a while back that she couldn’t see his threads… was he going to die?

He shook his head, concentrating back on Avrie.

“When it comes to Sun’s though, they don’t have any threads to let some of the essence go.”

She ripped a part of the coat she had stolen from Downspire and wrapped her arm in it, trying to stop the bleeding.

“So what I think is happening, and how these Suns work, is that they spill the essence into the environment, that’s why they are able to make a certain area have time.”

Aether eyes sparkled slightly, finally finding the secrets of the researchers. It was awesome. This way, he really felt like he belonged.

…

…

And while making the Sun with Avrie was entertaining, he still had to do his part with Elpis. They didn’t need humans right now, but it was better to have them for when the time came. Plus, it wasn’t like they could smell the rot coming from it, from keeping them too long.

Aether looked at his reflection in his dagger’s blade. He wiped off Avrie’s blood from it and followed Elpis.

They couldn’t just kill anyone; of course, they had to find someone secluded, and who didn’t know many people, or wasn’t liked; that way, after they disappeared, no one would notice. And they had found the perfect target. An old man, using his cane to talk, since his bones were too weak.

At first, it would seem like they were taking advantage of the elders, but this old man wasn’t so innocent. He had scammed many customers, stolen from competitors, and overall has been a nuisance. So no one would be sad if he stopped appearing.

Elpis gripped his blade, his hand shaking slightly. Making him frown.

Ever since that day on the bridge, he had vowed to protect the innocent, and now that he had changed his code, it was still hard for him to kill. It was as if he was betraying himself, who he was, and who he had wanted to become.

But as he was about to step forward, Aether stopped him, putting his arm in front of him.

“Let me handle this one.”

Elpis had wanted to argue, but he knew that The Fool would never listen. And he knew that once it wanted to do something, it wasn’t going to stop until he did.

Aether gripped the small hilt of his dagger, slowly creeping behind the man. He put his hood back on, just in case. And to be even more sure, he summoned his mask, tossing it to Elpis so he could also cover his face. And while it didn’t have the same effect as it did with him. It was still hard to see the young knight’s face.

As he crept closer, he could feel his heart beat rise. His hands were also getting shaky and slippery, almost dropping his blade on the ground, which would have ended his whole plan of being sneaky. But in the end, he was able to keep his hands in place.

As he reached the man, he could see his whole back, all open to him. He bit his lip slightly, his hands shaking while the dagger rose in the air, and plummeted down.

Aether stood frozen for some seconds, his mouth open unconsciously. He looked at his blade, stained with blood. He put his hand on his face, wiping the blood off it.

He looked over to the body of the old man, lying on the floor, lifeless, and like it was frozen in time.

He had done it, he had killed the first man out of many…

There was no going back from this.

He was either going to break down before he got to the end,

or become a murderer.

He flicked his hair back, painting it in blood.

There was still a problem; they couldn’t carry it, and people would notice. Even if they put him in a bag, some would still realize.

There was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath and started cutting limb by limb, and after stuffing the parts into two different bags.

He had expected to get nauseous, but he didn’t feel anything while doing it. No regret, no remorse. It was as if it were something that needed to be done. Plus, he had also gotten some shards.

From arms to legs, he cut each off, blood spilling on the floor and him.

And yet he smiled slightly.

After he got done with that treacherous and disgusting job, he signaled to Elpis, bringing the bags back to the hut.

Avrie had been surprised to see it. But she was even more disgusted, almost puking. She insisted on waiting a little, feeding it blood for a little more. So they sat on the ground, resting.

Aether looked at himself, covered in someone else’s blood. His hands were completely red, and his blonde hair had many red streaks through it.

He laughed slightly.

’I look pretty good in crimson.’

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