Gust

"I'm sorry," Aries was getting more disappointed with his body.

"Don't apologize," Princess Pieffer was serious. "You've been working so hard that your body could not keep up. I know you want to save Serestral as quickly as you can, but you should pay attention to your own health. Sometimes you have to stop for a while and listen to your body. Don't be so reckless. Please."

"I will be more careful," Aries promised then asked, "What did I miss?"

"Not that much," Princess Pieffer sighed with disappointment. "Lira wanted us to stay in the Gavel Manor until you wake up, but all of us should abide by the House Rules, especially the house leader. We had to leave. As soon as dawn had broken, we departed the House of Scale. Our plan was to stay at the forest standing between the borders of House of Scale and House of Twins then took turns in investigating the latter House. Siorre bid us farewell because that is the final limit of her bargain with Pines. As you can see," she glanced at the sleeping Fish House Leader and continued with her story, "He immediately came to switch places with her. He was the first one to penetrate the House of Twins but he did not return. We waited for an entire day but there was no sign of him coming back. Prince Sunrei followed to check up on him but he did not return as well. I cannot leave you and Gani alone in this place and decided to take you with me inside the House of Twins. And we had been instantly captured by Gust and his elite warriors."

"Gust?"

"He is the leader of this House and a Zodiac Knight."

"This place doesn't look like a prison to me," Aries looked around the room.

"Gust is a powerful spellcaster. He can confine us in this place without the need for ropes and cells," the princess answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Is he possessed?"

"I can't be sure but I think he is not. He looks somewhat normal to me."

"He captured us," Aries reminded the princess. "Something is definitely wrong with him."

"He did that not because someone gave him a command. He wants to strengthen his forces. I think he wants to protect this place from someone more powerful than him."

"A Celestial Knight?"

"Maybe not," Princess Pieffer sighed. "Gust knows his way with people. Instead of him being controlled, it will be the other way around. A Celestial Knight is working for him. So, I don't think he is protecting this place from another Celestial Knight. I guess…"

"You are thinking too much," the door to that room had opened and a man with a striking figure had entered. He was probably around the same age as Aries. He was wearing a long and dark-green overcoat and a pair of black boots. His short hair was black with light-green strands on it. His eyes were also green and glowing with disquieting seriousness. His commanding presence warned Aries to be more careful with his words and actions.

"Gust…" Princess Pieffer began but instantly fell silent when the intimidating man raised his right hand.

"Let me talk to him."

Those words made Aries lowered his guard for a bit. The princess was right. He was not possessed.

Gust stared at Aries for a long time before saying something.

"I can sense a strong spell inside your body. I will give you a counterspell if you help me with something."

"Help you with what?"

Gust did not answer right away. He only gazed at Aries for a long time. It was as if he was searching for something important in those crimson eyes.

"How can you forget us?" he asked instead of replying.

"I'm sorry," Aries did not want to overwork his mind. He had just recovered. "I don't remember a lot of things."

"Including us," Princess Pieffer added.

"Never mind," Gust walked over to the window and said, "You have to fight in my arena like your friends here."

"You sensed the spell inside my body. I cannot fight as excellently as my comrades can until it is removed."

"Remember us and I might eliminate your curse. If you can't then just lay down in the arena and die," Gust approached the door and opened it. "I need strong fighters, not weak ones. I just thought that I can count on you," he walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"I cannot control my memories," Aries sighed. "But I need to remember him," he glanced at the princess and asked, "Do you know him?"

"All I know is that he should have a twin sibling. This is the only House ruled by two people. But I never saw anyone in this mansion that looks exactly like him. He must be hiding something in his chamber since I can't penetrate it. I think he put a spell around it. Entering the dungeon from this side is also impossible."

"Can we ask Master Kiel for help?"

"Master Kiel respects his guardians. If they want privacy, he will give it to them. He will not intervene unless the dungeon is in danger."

"I don't want to mess with any guardian," Aries felt chills ran up his spine when he remembered facing the four guardians. "Maybe I'll just rack my brain out until I remember something from this House."

"I don't think you have that much time," Princess Pieffer said. "The arena opens at daybreak and closes at midnight. That is the reason those three are sleeping so soundly. They had been fighting for five straight days with only a few hours of sleep and little amount of food to eat."

"Listening to that is already tiring," Aries dropped on his bed. "I'll get more sleep. Maybe I will dream about something."

"Rest as much as you can," the princess agreed and returned to her bed.

"Hey, are you also fighting?"

"Not as much as these three," she smiled and covered herself with a blanket. "It is because Gust agreed that I should take care of you. Maybe tomorrow, I will be called again in the arena."

"We should put an end to this as soon as we can," Aries closed his eyes.

"We should," Princess Pieffer quietly agreed.

^###########^

Aries expected himself to dream but nothing had come to him. He woke up feeling disappointed with his brain.

"You are finally awake!" Gani hopped on the bed and opened his arms to embrace Aries but the latter slipped away and stood right next to the window.

"I had been sleeping for a long time. I'm sorry," he sincerely apologized to his comrades. "From this day onwards, I will be fighting in the arena with you."

"Don't fall behind," Pines strictly warned. "Some enemies in the arena are surprisingly strong."

"I won't," Aries promised and they headed at the courtyard of the mansion that had been transformed into an arena.

It was only an hour after sunrise but the place was already brimming with people. Aries and his comrades had been ushered to the waiting room near the fighting area. Five more fighters were hanging at that place. One of them approached Aries and reached out a hand for a formal greeting.

He was taller than Aries by a few inches. He was wearing black clothes that took the shape of his perfectly fit body. His dark brown hair looked like it had been electrocuted. It was messy and all over the place. His dark-green eyes were sharp and nearly inexpressive.

"It's been a long time since we worked together," he pulled his hand away since Aries was not willing to exchange handshakes. "Welcome to our team."

"His name is Jodien Brawl," Princess Pieffer introduced the messy-haired man. "He is the Celestial Knight working for Gust."

"I'm an easy person to please," his inexpressive eyes suddenly beamed with excitement. "I exist to fight. As long as there is a battle to be fought," he raised his right hand and called his weapon, a longsword with a dark-green blade. "I will not vanish! And I am happy to have found a perfect vessel, unlike Gani."

"Don't underestimate my vessel," Gani glared at Jodien. "You've seen what this body can do."

"Fine," Jodien returned to his seat. "You are as lucky as I am."

"How long have you been working for Gust?" Aries curiously asked.

"Nearly two decades, I suppose," the longsword in his arm had disappeared and the inexpressive look returned in his eyes. "The princess asked me a lot of questions the last time she was here. All I can say is that Gust came to like fighting as I do. That is why I am supporting him. I don't know the reason. I'm just glad that he did. It's been a long time since we enjoyed the same thing. Fighting is in our blood. I believe that one day this will unite us and I think it had already begun."

Aries glanced at Princess Pieffer. She only smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll look around the arena," he was about to step into the shadows but remembered how his body had greatly weakened when he overused that ability.

He promised his comrades that he would not drag them down. He should keep his word.

"Maybe after the fight," he returned to his seat and saved as much energy as he could.

^#######^

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the voice that thundered all over the arena was from Gust. "Our arena is officially open for a new set of challengers!"

The crowd applauded with excitement and the house leader waited for the cheering to die down before continuing with his speech.

"As always, there is only one rule in this arena. Win the fight. Whatever method you choose is allowed. Winners will have their wish granted. Even if for only one day. Losers will have to give their body to the corrupted souls or they can also choose death."

"Most of the losers will choose to be possessed," Jodien said and glanced at Aries. "That is the only way they can continue fighting. That is how much they love to fight. Though they can no longer challenge the fighters in the arena, they can always fight people outside of it. You will love the chaos outside this arena. I will take you there after this fight."

"Today, we will be having a tag team battle!" Gust announced. "For the first team, it will be Galen Windchaser and Louden Mire."

Cheers and jeers divided the crowd. It appeared that the first team was unpopular to the people.

"Galen Windchaser again," Jodien got up on his feet and stretched his arms and legs. "That man is good but I always defeat him."

"Always?" Aries was confused. "I thought…"

"As soon as he is defeated, he is vanishing out of thin air," Jodien released his longsword once more. "I thought Gust is the only one who can do that. It seemed that ordinary people can also acquire a Knight's skill. I guess hardworking humans are still blessed by the heavens."

"They will go against the team of Jodien Brawl and Aries Del Luna!"

The arena was filled with loud cheers and applause. It seemed that the Celestial Knight was the crowd favorite.

"Let's go," Jodien led the way out of the waiting area.

Of course, I am the first to fight in the arena. The day was starting to become not so favorable to Aries.

He let out a nervous sigh before following the Celestial Knight.

^######^