10 Dreams, House Leaders, and Souls

Aries opened his eyes and found himself in a dark room. A faint crimson light was covering his body. Not far from him, a translucent rectangular box was floating. It contained an axe that was enveloped in a faint purple glow. It was similar to the weapon of the corrupted soul Aries had shoved inside his body.

As Aries stepped closer to the glass container, he felt an awful and strange sensation emanating from the axe. The faint purple glow pulsated in harmony with his heartbeat. A part of his brain was screaming caution, but a bigger and more foolish part of his head wanted to examine the weapon at a closer distance.

He ignored the ominous sensation radiating from the axe and put his hand over the translucent container. He froze at the coldness that seeped from the glass and from the familiar voice that thundered from the weapon.

LET ME OUT!!!

It was the voice of the axe wielder.

LET ME OUT!!!

With great effort, Aries pulled his hand away from the container and sneered at the glowing weapon, "Why will I let you out?"

YOU!!!

The purple glow pulsating around the axe had intensified and Aries held his chest that suddenly felt like it was continuously being hammered.

I WILL BREAK OUT OF THIS PRISON AND EAT YOUR SOUL!!!

Aries winced as the pounding in his heart further strengthened. His knees felt unsteady but he refused to fall on his knees. Instead, he foolishly challenged the corrupted soul with a mocking smile, "I will wait for it."

I WILL KILL YOU, ARIES DEL LUNA!!!

Aries finally dropped on his knees as foggy images flashed in his mind and he had to cover his ears as deafening yet incoherent voices thundered from the darkness around him.

"What's… happening?"

Aries…

Pieffer was calling out to him. Repeatedly. It was barely inaudible at first but as her voice grew louder, it punctured the dark walls around him.

"ARIES!!! WAKE UP!!!"

The hole made way for a blinding light that swallowed the darkness around him then a hand had pulled him out of the abyss and brought him back to his room at the House of Ram.

"Aries, are you in pain?" Worry filled the eyes of Pieffer. "You are writhing in your sleep."

"I'm okay," he sat up and refrained from rubbing his painful chest. He looked away from Pieffer and glanced around the room.

Sunrei and Siorre were sleeping on the couches opposite each other and, sitting right next to the blonde prince, was a man with auburn hair with spikes that looked like a blazing flame. He was wide awake and staring distantly at the fireplace.

"You…"

"He is Leon Panthera," Pieffer said and gathered the attention of the man she had introduced. He glanced at Aries then looked away with shame on his eyes.

"Pieffer said a lot of strange things. Most of it, I cannot understand. All I can comprehend is that you had forgotten too many things," Leon was staring intently at the fireplace. "Despite that, you still helped us out. Thank you."

"What happened?" Aries was confused. "I thought we failed."

"We didn't," Pieffer was smiling fulfilment, "After Leon focused his attention on you, the flame that covered him had weakened and I managed to grab his arm and pull him back to his senses."

Aries marvelled at how the princess managed to pull that out-of-control man back to his senses but all he could do was stare at her with amazement.

The Pieffer he knew was ready to kill if needed but Aries never had the chance to see her in action for she was always being robbed of the opportunity to showcase her skills.

Though she could also protect herself, she had chosen to give her life just for Aries and Sunrei to survive.

Aries stared at the Pieffer in front of him and wondered if she would still easily give up on her life for the survival of the people she love.

He was hoping that the answer to that would be different. He would rather see a selfish Pieffer than a dead one.

"Hey, why are you spacing out?" the princess was gazing at him with anxiety. "Is there something wrong? Sunrei told me that the axe wielder had vanished after it seeped into your chest. And Leon…"

"When you grabbed my neck, I thought I saw the axe wielder," Leon finished for the princess. "That is the reason I punched your face. I'm sorry," he truly did look apologetic.

"I don't mind getting punched," Aries could no longer feel the pain in his face. The healer of the house must have had mended his cuts and bruises except for the wounds in his chest. It was still throbbing. "The important thing is that you are back to your senses. Have you already reinstated the barriers around your House?"

"A ritual is needed for that," Pieffer answered.

"It will take an entire day," Siorre yawned and stretched her arms and legs. "I want to help but Pines had only given me an entire day to stay with you. That cheating house leader always wants to be with you!" she glared at Pieffer.

"You should stop gambling with Pines," the princess laughed softly. "You know how good he is at playing cards. Luck rarely leaves his side."

"But still!" Siorre put both hands on her waist in annoyance. "I wanted to win against him! I want to help you out for a few more days!"

"Then stay here for as much as you want," Aries snapped at Siorre.

"I wish I can do that," Siorre sighed and sat at the window railings. "I miss the feeling of doing whatever I want. I wish we can go back to that time," she looked up reminiscently at the starlit sky. "It feels like decades when only a year had passed since our enemies succeeded in breaking the barriers around Serestral," she glanced away from the window and rested her sight at Pieffer. "Reinstating the barriers will never be enough. We need to put an end to our enemies."

That last sentence made Aries remember something from a long time ago.

Sanctioning bad people will never be enough. They need to be annihilated. Will you help me in killing them?

Those were the words said to him by the head of the Zodiac Assassins when he was nineteen years old and he agreed to it without hesitation.

"We will," Aries heard Pieffer promise and it pulled him out of his distant memories. "Tauren and Quaria are persistently searching for ways to vanquish the corrupted souls. I believe in them. They will find a way. Until they do, reinstating the barriers is our only way to protect the people from getting possessed."

"I know," Siorre sighed then bitterly smiled. "We are all doing our best. We finally succeeded in taking back Leon. After three months of trying. I guess it will take us years to completely reinstate the barriers all throughout Serestral."

"I don't care how long it takes," Pieffer smiled. Her eyes brimmed with determination. "The important thing is that we succeed in protecting our kingdom."

Aries could not stop himself from smiling. He was mesmerized by the resolve Pieffer had at that moment. She had the same willpower when she was searching for his long lost brother. Aries could only hope that there in Serestral, things would not end tragically for both of them.

"What should we do about the ritual?" Aries remembered to ask.

"We will explain the ritual tomorrow," Pieffer lightly tapped his hand. "Take a rest."

"Well, goodbye for now," Siorre pulled a bracelet from the pocket of her overcoat. The pendant looked like a fish and its colour was gold. "I'll see you soon," she waved a hand before breaking the pendant on the windowsill.

A blinding light erupted from the bracelet and covered Siorre. When it faded, the spear wielder had vanished as well.

"You should also rest," Aries moved out of the bed and motioned for Pieffer to sleep there. "This ritual you mentioned lasting for an entire day sounds so tiring," he glanced at the snoozing blonde prince then at the weary Lion House Leader. "You can sleep properly on this couch," he pointed at the couch that Siorre had left.

"Thanks," Leon did as he was told.

"Where are you going?" Pieffer asked after settling on the bed.

"I want to eat," Aries opened the door. "I will ask Miko for another room."

"Aries…"

He closed the door before Pieffer could finish her sentence. His stomach was growling with hunger. He had to eat a lot of delicious dishes. It was one of the things he was grateful for in that world. A delicious meal never cost a single penny. He could enjoy each delightful dish without worrying about money.

But when he arrived at the dining area, he instantly sensed that there was something else he had to worry about.

The excellent chef was sitting at the bench with a detached look in his eyes.

"Miko," Aries called but the chef did not answer or glanced his way.

He approached the table with caution. The distant look in the eyes of the chef was nearly similar to the look of the possessed people Aries encountered at the House of Lion.

His weapon hand was ready to call onto his magical crimson sword while his other hand tapped the chef on the shoulder as he called a little louder, "Miko!"

The chef bolted up from the bench and stared at Aries with confusion.

"Sir Aries…" his bewilderment turned into anxiety as he quietly blurted, "What am I…" he paused and shook his head then asked with a forced smile, "What do you want to eat, Sir Aries?"

"Whatever you can prepare," Aries cautiously replied as he sat on the bench. "I'm sorry about asking for food at this time of the day."

"Don't worry about it, Sir Aries. This is my job. Please wait here. I will be quick," the chef said before entering the kitchen.

After no more than thirty minutes, Miko had served him warm meals.

Aries loved the aroma and presentation of the dishes in front of him. It was enough to make his mouth water.

"Thank you, Miko," Aries took a spoonful of macaroni soup but before he could taste it, the chef had grabbed his hand and stopped him from eating.

"Sir Aries…" Miko appeared as if he was enduring something so painful. "The food… is poisoned…"

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