Chapter 50: Aaron

Marelda narrowed her eyes on the distance was a fast-moving figure heading towards them.

"Can you hold onto this for me Callidus?"

"Uh yeah sure!"

Callidus held Marelda's basket and immediately the weight was too much that the basket immediately fell to the ground, and Callidus had trouble lifting it.

Meanwhile, Marelda twisted her elbow. She got ready and as soon as the figure got closer, Marelda stretched her hand and successfully caught Aaron who was flushing red.

"Aaron? What are you doing?"

"B-Big sis!"

Marelda put down Aaron who was drooping his head.

"Is everything alright Aaron?"

"Um...Yeah.."

"Why were you running that fast? Are you sure you're alright?"

"I am..."

"Hmm ok, well how about you help me? Callidus here is going to brew some potions, I think you'll like watching the process. So wanna come with?"

Aaron nodded his head.

Marelda lifted the basket as they followed Callidus. As they were getting near Callidus's home a little bunny girl run closer to them.

"Um hello! My name is Rika!"

"Oh hello, Rika what can I do for you?"

The little girl was flushing red.

"Umm, can we ask Aaron to play tag with us?"

Marelda glanced at her little brother who was hiding behind her.

"Sure my little brother wants to enter!"

"Really?!"

Aaron trembled and glanced at the smile on his sister's face.

"Don't keep her waiting Aaron, go"

Marelda patted Aaron and slightly pushed him face-to-face with the girl.

"Uh...Umm...."

"Hello, my name is Rika! And you must be Aaron! Want to play with us?"

Aaron glanced at his big sister who was giving him a thumbs up. Aaron glanced at Rika and nodded his head.

"Yeheyy!! Let's go!"

Rika gestured and Aaron though with a bit of reluctance followed Rika.

"Sorry about bumping into you earlier I wasn't looking..."

"I-Its.....okay...."

"Teehee I like your voice, it sounds cool!"

Callidus glanced at Marelda who was smiling happily looking at her little brother.

"Marelda? I think Aaron didn't want to enter the game.."

"Hmm? Nah, I knew he wanted to enter he's just shy.."

"Oh, um by the way let's start with the process now!"

"Sure.."

....

"The chief's wife had died because of that child.."

"The chief has been in his chamber and wouldn't come out, he is still grieving for her..."

Marelda was 16 when her mother died leaving her a little brother. Her father was in deep sorrow after her mother had died.

"If only you looked like your mother, I wouldn't have to feel this hatred..."

Those were the words Marelda had heard from her father who kept on grieving while holding Aaron in his arms.

Due to losing his beloved wife, the chief was filled with sorrow and kept on grieving every night.

"He didn't even name you..."

Marelda holding the two-day-old Aaron in her hands glanced at the room of her father.

"Since he hasn't named you I will, Mom wanted you to grow up strong and someone who can face many dark times. Hmm, I'll name you Aaron..."

After two years of nonstop grieving, the chief was stable once again. But something about him had changed, his eyes were lifeless as if there wasn't any soul inside his body.

"Mama!"

"No, it's big sis..."

"Mama!"

"Truly you are adorable.."

As Aaron grew up, he began to crave the attention of his father. Aaron would do anything for their father to look at him. But it was still the same, Aaron never once was looked at by their father.

Not only that as Aaron grew, he started learning the reason why his father had hated him.

"If it weren't for you...my wife would have lived.."

Aaron would hear those words from his father every night. Although his father never told him those words face to face, Aaron was still hurt upon hearing such words.

Thus Aaron started to deprive himself, he didn't look at everyone and started distancing himself from the other people in the tribe. Instead of playing with other children, Aaron found pleasure in picking berries and other tasty fruits in the forest.

For him, the forest was a safe place away from the others.

But a year later, the chief had become bedridden due to an illness.

"Father..."

"Marelda, have you taken care of everything?"

"Well, we have already started gathering everything for this upcoming winter."

"I see...what about Aaron? Is he still shutting himself inside the house?"

"Well, yes. I tried telling him to play with the others but he doesn't want to. I'm afraid that he is slowly building a wall between everyone...I'm scared that it might escalate even further..."

"That child...I hate that child...."

'Oh, so he hates me...'

Aaron at his lowest point of life, felt his heart burning. Pain was all he could feel. After hearing his father say those exact words he was afraid of, Aaron rushed to the forest and ran with all his might.

"I hate that child...."

"That was the only thought inside my head when your mother had died...I had forgotten all the good things and had started to drown myself in pain..."

"I have been a terrible father. Last night...I had a dream, I met her, your mother. She told me that, my time was near..."

"This isn't an illness Marelda, it's the goddess telling me that it's my time. But...I don't think that I deserve to follow you Mother in the heavenly palace. I have done such terrible things, I have neglected your brother, as such before I leave, I want to see him..."

"I want to tell him that I'm sorry...I have been a bad father a terrible one he should hate..."

"Father... you're not dying...I'll find a cure before it's too late. Please, before you leave, tell him everything. Tell him please.."

"I know. I have two weeks left, that's enough to set things straight..."

....

"Aaron run!"

"Ah!"

Aaron ran with all his might so he wouldn't get caught by Pan.

"Wow! Aaron is so fast!"

"Yeah, he's even faster than us rabbits!"

Aaron smiled for the first time in his life.

Callidus glanced at the expression on Marelda's face.

"You truly care for your little brother..."

"Well enough of watching them play, let's start the process shall we?"

"Of course!"

....

"Hup!"

Cedric was in his living room.

A day ago the room was finished. At that time, the souls of the dead creatures were taken by the system and put inside the room. The system had changed the timeline of when the room was created.

As such the creation of the room or dubbed the heavenly palace was known to all creation.

Some souls died of giving birth, meanwhile, there were also those souls who were children. Mostly the Rhinoceros, Great White, Lion, Siberian Tiger, Blue Whale, Saltwater Crocodile, Grizzly, and Rabbit tribes had many of their souls inside the room.

Meanwhile, the Ogre and the Wolf tribe had no casualties so far.

Some of the souls died when they were just recently spawned due to many factors.

Since Cedric wasn't there and the ones who had managed them before were the system it was no wonder that many died.

The system was like a robot, it had no feelings and only works for the future development of each tribe not caring for some of the creation's deaths.

But Cedric also thought of it but deaths are necessary as well. They all can't live besides the balance between life and death would be destroyed. If there were 150,000 deaths per day, then there also have to be 150,000 new lives per day.

That was the balance between life and death. Having too many characters alive would not only tip the balance but would also cause overpopulation of the planet.

Although it sounds quite sad and devil-like to say such a thing. But everything needs to be balanced that's how the world would work.

Although deaths tend to cause pain and suffering to the creations, pain lets them grow. They learn from the pain and improve themselves.

If a 13-year-old uses a knife carelessly and had cut himself, would he use the knife carelessly again?

Pain teaches people.

That's why although it was quite heavy for Cedric to see his creations in pain the only thing he could give their loved ones was a place for them to rest once they died.

Cedric had also allowed them to talk with their loved ones especially those who are in a life-and-death battle.

[The host had created a history of the game]

[Would the host like to fast-forward the humans?]

"Eh? You made humans?"

[Currently, there are five humans..]

Cedric entered the systems room, he scrolled through a huge island and found five humans currently building a fire.

[Currently, there are over 65 humans scattered across this island]

"They come in five batches that means that there are over 13 groups scattered on this island?"

[The progress of the host is too slow.]

[The system had to step in for the game's progress to speed up.]