Back in Apium

"Ugh… I feel like I had a headache for a few weeks", I said to myself. Taking a long around, I found myself on the surface, but the sight still shocked me. The whole place looked like a land of ice. Everything was frozen. Vanauts, Furians as well as a few minor races, looked like frozen sculptures of the land. The terrain was not flat by any means either. Large crater like holes were prominent every so often.

'Is that the real extent of my power?' I asked myself in awe. I already knew how strong I was, when that Aura was fully released. Irwin also learned that the hard way. With that Aura fully active, my strength equaled that of a master. 'But, it's not really my strength, if I can't control it' I thought. I was in a weakened state, and although able to move, I wouldn't be able to fight much.

I was about to look for my belongings, when I heard a familiar voice. "You are a monster indeed.. Cough… Cough". It was the Eterian who tortured me for what seemed like an eternity. His legs were missing, and he was at his life's end. I slowly made my way towards him while asking, "Why did you say, you were not the ones who started this all?". It was a question that bothered me a lot. He coughed out more blood, then replied with a smile. "If I tell you, will that change anything?".

I thought about it for a while, then said "Probably not… But, I'd like to hear it anyway". He laughed out loud while replying, "You don't have to look far Human. Everything happened because of you. They know that, they know it perfectly well… Yet they blamed us..". I was a bit confused. 'Started it all? What exactly did we start?' I thought. That was under the condition, whether he was speaking the truth. I asked "I don't know what you refer to, but doesn't that depend on perspective? You will of course claim it was someone else's fault, while Humans will claim it was yours. The question is, what is the truth?".

He replied with a snort, "And what? Are you that perspective? Do you think, you can be the judge of everything that happened in the past? You may have defeated me, but there are stronger existences in this world. Humans? Eterians? We mean shit in their eyes". I asked "Is it the Hatmandor?". He just coughed out some more blood, and smiled. I asked a different question, "Eterian, why do you fight the war? Couldn't you just stay quiet and exist? Who knows what time would change? The future is a mystery. I didn't have a bias against your race, it was you guys who betrayed my trust".

He closed his eyes, and said "Perhaps you are right. Perhaps we should've just let go, and live our lives peacefully. Perhaps people like you would accept us, but it's too late for that now. Our leader is not someone who weavers. He will either win this war, or die trying". I asked the most crucial question "What do you plan on doing?". He laughed, then asked "And you think I will tell you? I answered enough of your questions. End me, just like I wanted to end you".

He thought of me as a worthy opponent, therefore I gave him the same benefit. I tighten my fist, and released everything I had onto that Eterian. "BOOOM!". His head exploded into pieces, which marked the end of that battle. I had some mixed feelings at the end. 'I don't know if he wanted to mess up with my head, but all he said seemed to be his true and honest thoughts. This makes me feel odd' I thought.

A truthful Eterian didn't fit the picture, but there was an old saying. 'In every story, there is a seed of truth' I thought. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, there were other things to worry about. I searched the Eterian, and found my storage feather. He had nothing else, especially my other bags. 'Did he threw away his belongings? Or maybe he never had any? Weird… Anyway, I need to find my stuff first' I thought, and searched the area.

After a considerable amount of time, I finally found my bags. I had to actually enter the system of caves again, where my belongings were stored. Besides the bags, I also found a few other dead Eterians. They were all frozen to death. Just in case, I broke the ice statues. I didn't want them to somehow survive this. I couldn't really search them for any items though.

After checking my bags, I realised I had everything. 'This is everything. Fortunately, he didn't realise that the heaviest bag was full of Yellow Dust. I should've left it with Crow. If they got their hands on this, the war would be much harder to win' I thought. I looked around for any landmarks, specific areas or unusual features of the land, that would help me orientate myself. 'Hmmm, I shouldn't be too far away from Apium. If I'm correct, it should be this way' I thought, and walked towards what I thought as the correct way.

A few days later, I arrived to Apium. This time, it must've been real. 'I mean, what are the chances they would actually manage that the second time' I thought. A few guards were stationed outside, but they were much different than what I encountered. One of the Atol Warriors asked me to stop. I asked "This is Apium, right?". Perhaps a stupid question, but I wanted to make sure. They looked at each other, then at me with confusion in their eyes. The Atol Warrior replied "You came here, and you don't know where you are?".

I replied "I just wanted to make sure. You have no idea what shit I had to go through in order to arrive here. Anyway, I need to meet with your Fraction Leaders". The Atol shook his head, and replied "We can't allow that. Fraction Leaders are currently… busy. We are not to disturb them". I added "It's urgent". He shook his head, and said "We really can't. You are free to stay here until they sort out their dif… the matters at hand".

I nodded while saying, "Alright, I will wait". It was an obvious lie, but I decided to play nice for now. When inside, I would have enough opportunities to get to them. We walked past the forest surrounding Apium, and arrived in the central area. The guard designated areas I was allowed in, and showed me where I could get a room. It was the same old inn, I used to stay in before. He left me there, and returned to his post outside.

I didn't even wait before disappearing and heading towards Fraction Leaders' area. There were a few warriors and other Atols guarding the perimeter, but I had no issues passing by them. The three buildings were still there, but there was an addition. A central building made from wood. It was on a tree as usual, but it was quite big and oval in shape. Seemed very well made, and refined. I had no idea what that place was, but I knew it was something important. A few stronger looking Atols stood guard around the tree.

I slowly made my way towards them, but these Atols were much better trained. Although they didn't detect me, they felt something was wrong. 'Not bad, these type of warriors would be great at the frontlines' I thought, and decided to use diversion. I picked up a few stones, and threw them at different locations.

Only two out of eight Atols moved from their positions, to check the noise. 'They are not stupid either' I thought. With two Atols missing, the space between others was much bigger. I decided to give it a try. With slow movements, I passed by the encirclement of Atols. They suspected something, but couldn't locate me. With those guards cleared, I made my way upstairs.

The weird thing was, I didn't hear anyone inside. I made my way to the top of the building. There were only one pair of doors at the top. The previous floors, were empty. I opened them slightly, and was immediately greeted with three pairs of eyes staring at me… Or rather the doors. "Who's there?!". I didn't need to hide myself anymore, and simply entered the room.