25 Transformation

His blue eyes sparkled beneath the red veil of surprise on his face. He was finally going to get answers for all his questions.

In the small hole that Sienna had found, he saw a blue stone. More like a diamond. Perfectly cut into its shape. It was shinning with a small blue light emitting from its surfaces. But the light was not too bright for anyone to notice it. The small whole was lightened with its blue light. Little did Aster know the he was standing beside the ultimate power source in the universe. Neither did he know that his soul was bound to it. He was the master of the stone.

Sienna and Eren stood frozen. They never expected to find such a valuable diamond in the heart of a cavern. They actally forgot that the rarest gifts and the valuable assets are never pronounced in daylight. They always remain hidden in places where you can never imagine them to hide.

Aster slowly began getting glimpses of the past again. He was again that small boy walking in the chamber. He could see himself staring at a small hole. Inside was a blue diamond. The boy's eyes widened. He leaned closer to the wall of the cavern to touch the stone. The moment he touched the stone, he could feel something happening to him. He could feel some vibe. Some outsider energy flowed into his body. His body reverberated with excess energy flowing into him. A faint blue light spread throughout his body. He couldn't stop it from spreading. His blonde hair took the tint of pale blue. His sapphire blue eyes accentuated his bluish appearance.

He had become the abode of universal energy. The one with the purest soul in the universe. The stone had finally found its master. But neither then nor now did he recognize this fact. He believed that it was accidental and his soul was not that pure. Isn't that a symbol of purity? Innocence?

The next thing he remembered was trying to put his hands into the small hole. When he did, he felt something inside. A latch! It was made of metal. He was sure as it felt cold to touch. By instinct, he pulled the latch backwards and then..... He was falling. Falling into a deep hole. A hole whose depth could be measured by none. Then, when he stopped falling he found himself in a busy bazaar and the stone was gone.

Aster was startled as this bit of memory came flooding back to him. He looked at the stone inside. He felt that the stone was drawing him close to it. He was in a trance. He felt that it was the key to his success. Why he felt so, he did not know. He was about to touch the stone when, Sienna and Eren pulled him back.

"What?" Aster asked. He was clearly confused.

"What are you trying to do?" Eren asked, sounding a bit too concerned.

"Can't you see?"

"We can. That's why we are trying to stop you." Sienna said pulling Aster's collar from behind as Aster was trying to move towards the hole again.

"What's your problem now?" Aster sounded weak.

"What if it is dangerous?" Sienna asked.

"It is not!" Aster defended.

"How are you so sure?" Eren asked.

"We have had this convo once. It. Is. Not. Dangerous." Aster asserted.

Eren and Sienna looked plainly at Aster.

"You didn't know what we came here for. You just told that you will get answers here. You never said what we are looking for. You even said that you don't remember what happened. So what happened now? A sudden go back into your memory? Like some movies? Is it?" Sienna asked. She was clearly annoyed by Aster's behavior.

"Yes." Aster replied plainly.

"What the heck? What do you mean by the 'yes'? Where you taken back to past?" Eren asked, unable to believe what Aster told.

Sienna was clearly dumbfounded. She did not know how to convince the stubborn Aster. She was afraid that something might happen to him.

"I just remembered touching the stone and pulling a latch and getting transported to the other dimension." He said as plainly as ever. His voice even sounded cold to some extend.

"What? Pulling What?" Eren was getting heated up. 'This Aster is always so stubborn. Why doesn't he care for his safety?' Eren said to himself.

"Pulling a latch." Aster said. He quickly explained to them what he had seen in his memory.

Eren and Sienna weren't convinced. Aster's stubbornness had always pissed them off. But now, he is being stubborn for answers. They didn't even know whether they would get those answers. Aster was being stubborn for nothing.

"Aster we can go back." Sienna pleaded.

"We came till here. We found the stone. I'm sure, it is this stone that gave me my powers. I want my answers. I won't leave without getting those." Aster said.

"Aster please try to under..." Sienna started to reason with him.

But, Aster had already shaken his collar free and bend low to take the stone. Eren tried to pull him back. But it was too late.

Aster had already taken the stone in his hands. A strange tint of blue spread across his body. Sienna and Eren were shocked to see this sight. They were dumbfounded. He clutched the stone tighter. He released his right arm from the grip and opened his palms as if he was waiting to catch something. Just then his silver sword appeared out of nowhere. His body was covered in a golden armour.

Sienna and Eren watched this sight in shock. Aster was transforming into the most powerful being.