History

Aldrich groaned as he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to find himself sitting in his father's chair and the man himself kneeling beside it, Aldrich's hand clasped tightly in his.

"Dad?" He said weakly. Alastair looked up at him, his eyes a bit wet. "What just happened?"

Alastair got up to his feet and pulled Aldrich into a hug. "Oh thank the gods, you're awake."

Then he pulled back, both hands still on Aldrich's shoulders. "I guess I owe you some explanations."

He did, Aldrich thought. He sat upright in the chair as his father left his side, circling the desk. He sighed before starting to speak.

"When you told me about how something was... off with Larian all those months ago, I was only pretending not to notice." Alastair explained. "The truth is, I've been unaffected by his Virtue from the start. And so has the King. But Larian doesn't know that, so I asked the King to play along until I could find a way to free him from His influence."

Aldrich wasn't following completely. Maybe because he was still feeling lightheaded. "Who is 'His' referring to?" 

Alastair gazed wearily at him. "I guess I should start from the beginning to make it make more sense."

He moved a few parchments out of the way before taking a seat on top of his desk, looking back at him.

"You see... the history of our family is not as honorable as I've made it out to be."

His father had definitely told him a lot of stories about the family. He had drifted off for most of them though. Luckily Alastair was so engrossed in his own tale telling that he never really noticed.

"The de la Rossas were indeed the most powerful family in Galicia for centuries, and just having the honor of bearing its name filled me with immense pride. However, I eventually discovered the true origins of the family's power. Centuries ago, the first of the de la Rossas, the family's patriarch, Aldurin de la Rossa, made a deal with a devil dragon."

"A dragon", Aldrich repeated. "Like Abaddon?"

"Worse." Alastair replied. "The dragon made them the most influential family in the region. How exactly it did so, I have no idea."

Aldrich took a few seconds to process the information. It was a lot, and out of nowhere too. "And what did the dragon want from him? I-in return."

"The soul of a descendant of its choosing. But then it didn't contact the family again for centuries. Until it spoke to your mother and I... on the day you were born."

The words bounced around in Aldrich's head for a while, not quite registering. "Wait... you're saying..."

Alastair paused before answering, as if unsure how to say it. He sighed before just saying it plainly. "Your soul. It wanted your soul."

It took his soul? But then how was he alive right now. And why had it waited all those years just to take his.

"Your mother and I were completely blindsided. Even I, the oldest son of the family, was completely in the dark about this deal. It was from so long ago that it was not even listed in any family records. You showed no signs of abnormalities after so your we decided to just try and move past it. To get away from the family and its legacy as a whole. One of my father's trusted friends Azazel, he'd been around for forever really, recommended we come to Yves to be free from any more of the dragon's influence. Then once we got here the King managed to convince me to become a Royal Knight."

Aldrich knew the rest of the story. His mother had died giving birth to Aeris and now they were here. But what did all this have to do with Lari-...

"Wait a minute. Are you saying Larian is..." 

Alastair nodded. "I believe he is your soul, in a materialized form."

"Can souls just do that? Be outside their bodies. And be whole different people?"

"Normally, no." Alastair answered, getting off his desk. "But I can only assume its a result of the souls of those Virtued being fundamentally different. And of course, whatever the Morningstar did to it while he had it."

Aldrich rubbed his chin, thinking. So Larian wasn't cooler than him after all. He was him. He felt a laugh building up in his chest, just wait till Veliona heard that. 

"Are you alright?" Alastair asked, a look of concern on his face.

Aldrich stopped laughing, realizing there wasn't much reason to. In fact, this was an especially serious matter. But he really didn't know what else to say or think at that moment.

"I asked the King for his help in finding out how to break a devil's contract and return your soul to you." Alastair explained. "There was little progress for years, and then Larian showed up."

Even the King hadn't been able to help. But Aldrich had been fine so far even without a soul, so how much did it really matter. "Do you have any idea why Larian decided to show up now?"

Alastair shook his head. Whether the devil dragon's timings were planned or just random was unbeknownst to him. "I can't really say anything for certain. Which is also the reason I kept all this from you, I didn't want Larian and by proxy, the devil dragon, to find out I was looking for a way out for you."

A knock at the door drew both their attentions. It was a messenger from the capital, no one had answered the door so he had let himself in.

"So sorry for the interruption," he apologized. "But I was sent by the King to call for you, Sir Alastair."

After he delivered the message the man left. Alastair sighed, straightening his blouse. Then he turned to Aldrich. "Are you feeling better now?"

Aldrich nodded.

"Then let's go speak to the King."

x

The King was waiting for them in his usual seat in his throne room. Aldrich was reminded of the day he had first met Veliona face to face. Except this time he would be entering with his father and not standing behind the door.

"Sir Alastair, welcome." The King started. "I have received word of-..."

He paused when Aldrich moved out from behind his father. He had not expected him to be there.

Alastair gave a small bow before speaking. "We need not hide anything anymore. I have told him everything."

The king nodded in understanding. But he still had some reservations. "Does that mean you have confirmed he and his soul's thoughts do not share a connection of some sort?"

 Alastair shook his head. "No, but I decided I didn't want to hide it from him any longer."

The King crossed his fingers. "I see. Well, it's your call either way. Anyway, I have a lead of a person who might be able to help you."

"Really?" Alastair asked, surprised.

"Indeed," the King answered. But from his expression it wasn't all good news. "Unfortunately I only have a name, and no location or way to track him down."

That didn't sound promising, Aldrich thought. If even the King couldn't track this person down then it was probably near impossible for anyone else to.

Aldrich could tell his father was thinking the same. He asked for the man's name anyway. It was still a lead.

"Granz die Stärke."

That was all the King had to tell them. Months of searching and only a name and some rumors here and there. Whoever this person was, they were quite elusive. Aldrich wondered if he was even real.

"How strong would that person have to be, to be able to break a devil's contract?" Aldrich asked his father later that day, back at home. "Stronger than the King?"

Alastair wasn't sure how to answer. Mostly because even he and the other knight commanders weren't completely privy to the King's Virtue.

"We'd better focus on finding him at all, first." He replied. He was quite surprised at how calmly Aldrich had taken the news. Maybe a bit too calm.

Aldrich himself was way too intrigued to be worried. Perhaps he had judged Larian too harshly, he was him after all. Maybe he could convince him to abandon whatever scheme the dragon was cooking and work together with them instead.

He wondered when Larian and the princess would return.