18 'Questions and Answers' Time

Rheves Verstone's POV

"Oy! What's wrong!?"

Having just been talking fine just a few seconds ago, the mysterious boy seems to have suddenly lost all of his power and collapsed tilting forward.

"Oy! Are you alright!? Oy!!" I shouted, as I continuously try to ascertain the boy's current state.

The mysterious boy looks to have fallen unconscious. Why? Did something happen? Was there an injury I wasn't aware of?

As I continue to worry about the well-being of a strange boy I don't even know or understand, a noticeable change happened to the boy.

The pitch-black color of his long hair receded to reveal a silver-gray color. The strange feeling of calm and warmth that the boy gave me was now gone. All that was left now is the feeling of a small weak young boy, no different from any other,

As I stared in shock over the boy's third transformation, the boy began to stir awake.

"Nnnnn….." the boy slightly moaned, while his eyes slowly opened.

When his eyes opened up, I was able to see that his former black colored irises turn into silver-gray color much like his hair. The moment I saw his eyes, a sense of déjà vu struck me. It's like I had seen those eyes from somewhere before…

"…M-mom….where is….flower….I have to bring…" whispered the boy, in a volume so soft I could barely make out.

My mouth, which wanted to keep questioning the boy for leaving such cryptic words behind only to just suddenly fall unconscious, slowly closed.

His cryptic words. His vastly changing appearance. I have nothing but questions for the boy to answer. However, once I saw his current actions, I changed my mind. I open my mouth once more.

"Your mother is safe. Thanks to you for bringing the flower, your mother had been saved. You don't have to worry anymore."

After hearing my words, it seems that the boy understood. With a look of blissful relief, the boy once again closed his eyes and actually went to sleep.

After looking at the boy's sleeping face for some time, I carried his limp body to an empty room to what appears to be his bed.

Having placed the boy to bed, I also lifted Aileen off the floor and carried her to her bed. Having focused on only concocting the medication, I had no time to move her off the floor.

"It can't be helped. My questions can wait for a time. For now, good work and good night."

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Aileen Daemon's POV

Thornday, Abram: 16, F. 1498. Morning.

'…Heavy.'

'My eyelids....so heavy.'

'My body…hurts.'

'Why does it hurt?'

What happened?

'….No, I remember.'

It happened again.

No, actually, this time it was much more.

My medicine…I didn't have enough.

Because I didn't have enough, I couldn't stop the pain.

But…strangely, the pain I feel right now isn't as bad as before.

'Was I saved?'

…I feel like I forgot something…very important.

What was it?

'…..That's right! Ashe! Where is Ashe!'

With all my will power, I opened my heavy eyelids.

I wake up to see a very familiar ceiling.

I had been moved to my bed at some point.

"…..When did I get to my bed?"

"Oh, you're awake. How do feel?"

I slightly jumped in surprise.

However, what I was surprised about wasn't why there is suddenly another person in my house.

Rather, why do I hear a familiar voice and see a familiar appearence of someone which I haven't seen for a longtime?

"Rheves! Is that you!? Why….?"

Rheves Verstone. A former companion that joined me during the war and longtime friend.

Ever since I had contracted the 'curse' and moved to live within the Merez Forest, I had not made direct contact with any of my former companions. Due to the Merez Forest's special climate, communication through the use of my phone-type AEON device is unusable. So the only method of communication left to me is using Seeker Falcons to carry my written messages once a month.

Seeker Falcons are a special type of Aether Beast used by people for a long time in order to carry messages. Using their special ability to locate the unique Aether wave patterns of different people, even through long distances, Seeker Falcons have been used reliably as a method of communication for hundreds of years. Even the Merez Forest special climate is unable to throw a Seeker Falcons senses off.

While I was able to pass messages to some of my former companions to tell them not to worry, I was unable to ever contact Rheves, even once, these past 5 years. Even Seeker Falcons have difficulty locating moving targets.

The last time I ever talked to him was when I had made the decision to live within the Merez Forest and had immediately began traveling alone.

The very same Rheves, which could not contact, is now right in front of me.

With a small laugh, Rheves said, "It's nothing. I just had something I needed you for, so I came to visit. Surprised?"

My face was still slack from shock when I replied, "Surprised….? It is not that simple. Like where had you been...Nah, there is no time for this. I have to find Ashe before it's too late…!"

That's right. While I had been caught off-guard with Rheves's sudden visit, I hadn't forgotten my main objective. I have to find Ashe or…

"….If this 'Ashe' you speak about is a young boy with silver-gray hair, he is right over there."

"Eh?"

I turned my eyes to look in the direction of where Rheves was pointing only to be caught off-guard once again.

What I saw laying on Ashe's bed was the person himself. The very same boy who that had ran outside to do something reckless.

"Ashe! Ashe!"

With unsteady steps, I tried, quickly as I can, to go to Ashe's bedside to make sure that he is okay.

"Woah there! Calm down, Aileen. You had just woken up from being sick. You shouldn't overwork yourself so quickly. If it is about the boy, he's fine. He doesn't have any wounds."

Rheve, looking flustered, quickly tried to stop me. After hearing his words, my rapidly beating heart has calm down somewhat.

"Is that so…..Good." I said, while letting a sigh of relief. My body quickly collapsing towards my bed.

It was as if all my power had been sucked away. I once again laid on my bed.

Ashe. I'm so glad you are safe.

As I continued to calm down, I resumed my curiosity on the reason as to why Rheves is currently here.

"Were you the one who found Ashe and brought him back? If so, I thank you. I think that before you said something about needing me for something?"

While getting a nearby chair to sit on, Rheves begins to answer my questions with one of his own.

"I did say that. But before that, I wonder what is your relationship with that boy. Is it like I think it is….?"

"Haha...as expected, you figured it out. That's right. He is my son, Ashe Daemon."

"Son, Ashe Daemon..."

With those words, Rheves suddenly became silent.

"…What's wrong. Did Ashe do anything…?"

"NO! No. He did nothing wrong. I just thought I could see the family resemblance. That's all."

Even with Rheves trying to reassure me that nothing happened, I could tell that he was trying to hide something from me.

"Out with it, Rheves. You know how long we've been friends? As always, you are bad at hiding anything from us."

Rheves remained silent.

But after a few moments, it seems like he made a decision and began to open his mouth.

"Aileen, do you know the reason why Ashe was in the forest alone? That place is not where a young child should be."

I instantly was force into silent.

There is no way I would not know that. Merez is no place for Ashe to have gone in alone. Why he was there, I could only blame myself.

"I couldn't stop him. Thanks to me not having enough of the medication, I succumbed to the 'curse'. Seeing me in pain, this made him have the reckless idea of searching for the Blackthorn Rose alone. Due to my weakness, Ashe was…"

"Is that so?" said Rheves, as he nodded in understanding, "Don't blame yourself too much. The amount of medicine you needed…no one could have known."

"Still though…but wait a second. I shouldn't have anymore medicine in stock, so how was I cured? Did you make a new batch?" I said as having just realizing the strangeness of this situation.

"It is true that I made the medicine. I would never forget the details…."replied Rheves, "However, without Ashe, I wouldn't have gathered the Blackthorn Rose nor known about your collapse."

What? My Ashe did that….

"What do you mean? Before that, how was Ashe before you found him. He wasn't attacked was he. I know you said he didn't have any visible injuries but….!"

I starting interrogating Rheves hard about Ashe. With a wave of his hand, Rheves called for me to stop for a second.

"Talking about this is good and all, but I just want to make sure of something first. What I am going to talk about is extremely serious. It relates to the future of your son. Even so, do you wish to hear more?"

Rheves had always been quite serious ever since the first time a had known him, but for him to be this serious is extremely rare. The only other time Rheves had been this serious was when he ask all of us our resolve when joining the fight with Demon Lord Xoketh….

"…..it's fine. If it is about my son, I want to hear everything. No matter what it is."

After hearing my resolve, Rheves silently looked at my face. Seemingly convinced, Rheves began to tell the story of how he had arrived to the Merez Forest, gotten lost, and then...found a transformed Ashe.

It was an unbelievable story. Using a customized AEON device in his possession, Rheves is capable of detecting the presence of Miasma. Having caught an unusual signal in the forest, he immediately searched for the source. At the end of the search, that was when Rheves had seen a white-haired Ashe who, for some reason, is exuding Miasma from his body.

Surrounding Ashe were the corpses of dead Merez Forest Wolves.

According to Rheves prediction of flow of events, Ashe had first been attacked by the wolves for them only to be counterattacked by an Ashe using Miasma.

Probably due the effect of the Miasma, Ashe was unable to distinct friend from foe. Just when Rheves had arrived to the scene, Ashe immediately attacked him.

While under the barrage of Miasma using attacks, Rheves was able to calmly deal with him. Apparently, using an Ancient Artifact whose main purpose is to seal Demon Lord's Miasma that he brought with him, he was able to calm him down.

Once calmed down, Ashe had remained conscious for a short while. It was when he was conscious that Ashe told Rheves about my 'curse' worsening and to take the Blackthorn Rose. While suspicious of his words, Rheves gathered the Blackthorn Roses as he was told and had Ashe guide him home.

Once having reached home, Ashe collapsed in exhaustion and, at the same time, Rheves saw a collapsed me. Afterwards is what I already know.

After finishing his story, Rheves became silent. I too was silent.

"..." (Me)

"…" (Rheves)

"….Truth be told, I have a hard time believing what you said is true."

"…As expected."

"Especially the part about how Ashe had transformed and used Miasma to fight back against the Merez Forest Wolves and you. I just can't believe it…."

"…I can honestly say that if Ashe had not transformed and fought back against those wolves, I would not have ever met him in time. A normal child would not have survived being preyed by a pack of Merez Forest Wolves."

"HE'S NORMAL!! Of course he is normal! For 5 years I raised him, I have not seen any sign of anything you said. What you say is much more abnormal!"

"However, everything I said is the truth." said Rheves, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"....!!"

I know Rheves. Rheves would never lie about something this important. But the things he says are just too unbelievable.

"While I'm sorry about telling you something as heavy as this after you had just recovered and all...," Rheves paused for second before beginning again, "About your 'curse', there is still something I haven't told you yet. "

Rheves begins to tell me about the truth hidden behind the 'curse'.

"...So that's how it is...to tell you the truth I completely believe what you say. That 'dark' and 'murky' feeling...Of course, that's it! That means when I had succumbed to the 'curse' yesterday, Xoketh might have....?"

"You say that you can feel him, does that mean even now?"

"....No. To tell you the truth, I hadn't felt that 'dark' presence in a long time."

"When was the last?"

"Hmmmm…..around 5 years ago?"

"Before or after you gave birth to Ashe?"

"….After."

"I see."

"….If you got something to say, just spit it out."

As Rheves had continued to question me, I began to become more worried. That I had made terrible mistake.

"You still don't know? I think you are smart enough to realize it."

"…It can't be?"

"That's right."

There could be only one thing that made Rheves's line of questioning make sense. When I had given birth to Ashe, Xoketh's 'Soul' had also went with him.

I don't want to believe it. No, I can't believe it! It would mean that I had passed off my fate to my dearest son. It can't be that even my 'curse' was…

"Judging from what I know about you, I know what you are thinking. Don't worry. Nothing like that happened. For 5 years, Ashe had never needed to take your medicine, right? That, by itself, is proof."

When I heard Rheves's words, it was as if a weight had been lifted off me. While I still feel a bit crushed, I was much better from before.

"Right now, Ashe shows no sign of being affected by the 'curse'. Without the help of the 'curse', Xoketh's revival had been stagnated. That's was why, for these past 5 years, Xoketh has showed no signs of his presence."

That's true. While Xoketh's soul is in Ashe, Ashe also does not have the 'curse'. He won't become like me.

"However, Xoketh's revival is just a matter of time."

Eh?

What are you saying? Didn't you just say that since Ashe doesn't have the 'curse' so Xoketh is not going revive?

"The proof was today's events. I don't know how, but Xoketh had a different method from using the

curse' to revive himself. That's why Ashe was able to use Miasma."

…ah….AAHHH!! Of course! How could I forget?

But if that is true, wouldn't that mean I had made a 'sin' I can never take back.

While unwittingly, I had transferred Xoketh's 'Soul' into my precious son.

If I still had Xoketh's 'Soul', as long as I take my medicine, I can stop the progress of the 'curse' to prevent his revival. That would have been so much better.

But for Ashe, from the beginning he never had the 'curse'. Even though he doesn't have it, Xoketh is trying to revive himself within Ashe anyway. Even my medicine won't help Ashe, I don't think it would've stop Xoketh even if he remained inside me.

It was impossible. Nothing can be done. Why....?

As I continued to think many things, I was riding a downward spiral into despair.

"With that in mind, I would like to ask you something: I have a suggestion of what I can do. Would like to listen?"

Huh?

For who knows how many time today, Rheves once again opened his mouth to say the most incredulous suggestion he has ever given me.

Eh? Eeeeehhhhh!!?

Rheves once again surprised me with his last words. While I still was absolutely out of it, Rheves continued to explain his suggestion. Jeez. No matter what you say anymore, I won't be surprised, okay. Right now, I'm used to it.

In summary, I was wrong.