Chapter 38 - The Gate of Pride Part II

"Peace isn't made by just one person. It takes the willingness to cooperate from everyone. If there was someone capable of bridging a path that should allow peace to be a possibility for these two nations, I believe that person would be you, Jayson." Tamara exclaimed.

An incapacitated Jayson slowly began to regain consciousness as he awoken in a strange place. The first thing he realized was that his broken and battered body had been fully healed, and he was no longer in the ravine he had fallen in. He was under a cozy patio like structure made from timber and thatch.

"Sayu!" Jayson exclaimed as he shot up from the grass bed he was laying on.

A surge of energy rushed into his rejuvenated body, prompting him to run out from under the patio. Jayson only made it two steps out before an ice spike erupted from the ground, stopping just a few inches short of his neck.

"Where are you rushing off to!?" A guy's voice asked from above Jayson.

"Where am I?" Jayson questioned.

"No questions until you answer mine outsider!"

"I don't have time for this, I need to make my way to Aestus now."

"Huh, Aestus? Why do you 'need' to go to our capital?"

"It doesn't concern y-"

Before he could finish that statement, Jayson realized that the spark gloves that he used to create flames with weren't on his hands. Once noticing that, he immediately tapped on his pockets to ensure that the lighter with the message was still there, but it wasn't.

"Where's my belongings?" Jayson asked with growing frustration.

"Your belongings are safe." Another voice said from behind the first stranger.

A tall woman with short black hair walked up to the edge of the ledge right next to the first stranger.

"Why is it that you need to go to Aestus? What business do you have there?" She questioned.

"...I was sent here to deliver a message to the Elder's. That lighter you took from me contains the message."

"So you ARE from Ignus."

"Please, it's really important that I deliver that message as soon as possible. I mean no harm." Jayson pleaded.

The two strangers glanced at each other briefly with skepticism all over the young man's face.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Jayson Hillinger."

"My name is Trill, and this is Tarver."

"Wait, Trill? Does the name Noya mean anything to you?" Jayson questioned.

Her eyes widened in response to hearing that name.

"How do you know her?" Trill asked calmly.

"She helped me out. Afterward, she told me to go to her hometown and ask for someone named 'Trill'. That's you, isn't it?"

"Noya? Isn't that -"

"Quiet." Trill said as she covered Tarver's mouth with her palm.

She sighed heavily while dropping her head and closing her eyes briefly.

"That girl's going to get me in trouble." She mumbled. "Jayson, was it? Follow me."

"Wait, Trill! Is that it!?" Tarver exclaimed as he followed after her.

Jayson was slightly confused by their reaction but didn't ponder about it for too long. He jumped and pulled himself up onto the ledge and followed behind the two.

.....

Rays of sunlight penetrated through the canopy of the redwood forest and illuminated the awakening area. Avery was helping Sayu wash her face and hair in a shallow river.

Thump Thump Thump

Avery looked over to investigate the thumping noise and found a cute rabbit with antlers.

"What's that?" Sayu asked as she lifted her head and looked over to the creature.

"A jackelope, I think." Avery responded. "My dad wrote about all sorts of different creatures he encountered along his travels. I really only read about the friendly ones."

"So it's friendly?"

"It should be."

Thump Thump.

It knocked its hooves against the ground once more before turning and swiftly sprinting away.

"Woah! It's fast!" Sayu exclaimed.

"Quiet." Avery said as she placed a piece of cloth over Sayu's face to dry her off. "We're in the Redwoods, so we're really close to Aestus, but we're not in the clear yet. This place has plenty of cute animals, but it also has scary ones. We need to make sure not to spook any of them while we're in here."

"Got it."

"Hopefully the others got transported closer to Aestus than we were, or better yet, inside Aestus." Avery said to herself.

.....

"Alright. This is where we part ways." Elder Claire stated to the group cheerfully. "I pray all goes well on your end. For you in particular Kaden, good luck."

"Thanks." Kaden responded.

"Likewise to you, sister." Treya replied.

"See you later." Aaron said optimistically to Via.

"Yeah, later." She replied with a bright smile on her face.

"...Mai!" Kaden called out before they could've walked away.

"Yes?"

"Thank you... for listening to me yesterday. That's a lot more than what most people have done for me."

"Well, for me, it's the least that I can do."

Mai kept her calm composure until she turned to walk away from Kaden, and then the slightest smile crept onto her face.

"Good luck, stranger." Mai stated while walking off with Via and Elder Claire.

"So I'm a stranger again?" Kaden asked himself.

Aaron chuckled and playfully threw his arm over Kaden's shoulder.

"What're you giggling about?" Kaden asked.

"Hehe, don't worry about it."

The five led by Elder Treya promptly made their way over to the gate. As a result of the previous battle, which transpired in front of the gate the last time they were here. The terrain of the area had now changed.

"All of this wasn't here last time." Kaden stated as he gazed around at the debris.

"This is the result of our previous battle with the Luminents, the last time we were here." Treya answered. "The earth essence user literally was about to drop a landslide on us before his partner intervened."

"You say that so casually." Kaden replied while walking forward.

The blue stone that Kaden had to place his hand on to activate the gate was just barely uncovered. He noticed that, but at the same time, he realized what the blue stone was. He reached into his own shirt and pulled out the necklace Mai had given him.

"It's sapphire." He said quietly.

"Yo Kade." Aaron exclaimed.

Kaden looked over his shoulder towards Aaron and the others who were standing a good distance behind him.

"You got this. Hurry it up so we could head back."

Aaron's casual and calm demeanor gave a certain sense of comfort that Kaden didn't feel during his first attempt.

"If you rush me, I'll just move slower." Kaden replied while placing his palm on the sapphire rune.

Once again, the gate was activated and began to emit a bright white light. Kaden stood straight up and gazed towards the very top of the gate.

"I'm ready for you." Kaden said to himself.

A single step forward was enough for Kaden to be embraced by the light, leaving Aaron, Treya, Kenzo, and Damien to watch from the outside. Immediately after, Damien left the group and ran into the nearby treeline. Aaron watched on in confusion while Treya paid no mind to it.

.....

"I'm not scared of you. You don't have a say in my life anymore. You can't hurt me anymore. You're not even real..."

"Kaden, open your eyes." A voice said from the darkness Kaden was drifting in.

"...Mama?"

The voice Kaden heard echoed through every corner of his head and sent chills down his spine before repeating itself.

"Kaden, open your eyes for me."

"...You're joking. No, this isn't real!" Kaden restated to himself. "This is just a stupid test."

It was then that Kaden began to regain feeling in his body. First, he felt his feet come into contact with a smooth surface beneath him. Then he felt what could have only been fingers gently caressing his face.

"This isn't just a test." The voice said from seemingly directly in front of him.

Kaden's eyes shot open as he gasped for air briefly. There wasn't anyone around him, and he once again found himself inside of his old miami flat.

"Hello?" Kaden called out to no response.

He cautiously walked through the apartment, carefully investigating the familiar environment. With nothing out of the ordinary worth noticing, Kaden randomly found himself standing in front of his refrigerator. Just as he reached out for the handle...

Beeep.

"Happy new year Kaden, this is your mom speaking. I hope you're doing well and that God continues to bless you in this new year. It would be nice to hear your voice, so please call if you can."

The exact same message that played on Kaden's answering machine on New Year's Day randomly started playing again. Kaden nervously glared at it before slowly walking over to it. With some hesitation, he picked up the hand phone and pressed it against his right ear.

"...Hello?"

"Hi Kade." The voice replied into his left ear.

Kaden nearly launched himself over the table after being startled in such a way, but he managed to retain a small amount of his composure. The person standing behind him was exactly who he thought it was.

"Mom?" Kaden asked.

"Yes, Kade. It's me." She replied softly.

"Wha... Why..."

"Calm down first. Here, take a seat." She said, gesturing to the couch.

With a clear mind knowing that what he was experiencing at this moment was nothing more than a fabrication, Kaden willingly followed her lead. They sat next to each other, and a suffocating silence soon filled the room around them.

"This is slightly awkward, huh?" Kaden playfully stated.

His mom continued to sit in silence and gaze off at the wall with a deadpan expression. Kaden glanced over at her a few times before an ominous feeling started to converge around him. A feeling of something or someone watching him.

"WAAAAAAAA!!!"

Kaden spun around to what sounded like a baby crying somewhere else in the apartment.

"Should I start off by apologizing?" Kaden's mom questioned with a soft smile.

"Apologizing for what?" Kaden replied.

"Don't make me have to say it."

"WAAAAAAAA!!!"

The crying continued and seemed to intensify the longer it went on. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Kaden noticed a shadow darting from one end of the apartment to the next.

"I know I wasn't a good mother to you, but I want you to believe that I tried my best."

"You're bringing that up now? That doesn't matter anymore." Kaden quickly replied.

"...You're right. None of that matters. I'm just glad you were able to find some success in life. You were always a smart kid, much smarter than me or your father. I knew you would've been better off alone, or at least somewhere where we weren't holding you back."

More of the swiftly moving shadows started to appear on the walls of the apartment. They all resembled the figure of a little kid running back and forth.

"That's what you have to say after throwing me away?" Kaden questioned with growing frustration."Things weren't any easier at the orphanage you know. There wasn't any chance of somebody adopting me because of how old I was, and there weren't any other kids there my age. I hated how lonely it was in there."

"Once again, I apologize, Kaden."

The sound of the crying baby started to become distorted, shifting in between the high pitch wailing and a low pitch groaning. The unnatural noise fluctuated in volume every few seconds, and the disturbing nature of it was more than enough to put Kaden on edge.

"What's happening?" He questioned in a panic.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

An enthusiastic kid's laughter started to revolve around them as if it were coming from the shadows on the wall. There was no way Kaden could've ignored this anxiety inducing situation any longer. He shot up to his feet and observed everything that was happening around him.

"It was nothing like this before." Kaden said to himself. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry for not being smart enough to figure something out for the both of us." She stated in a monotonous tone. "I'm sorry for never stopping your father before that day. You must've had to endure so much. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a good childhood. If I were you, I wouldn't want to hear my voice either."

Kaden began to feel an immense amount of pressure in the air around him as everything that was happening started to drain his mental state. He stumbled in place and fixed his footing as he slowly began to feel that he was about to blackout again.

"Even so, it makes me happy knowing that you still accomplished things in life despite your setbacks." She said as Kaden's vision turned blurry. "Kaden... I'm proud of you."

...

"...Proud?"

All of the surrounding noise began to fade away, along with Kaden's vision. However, just before he fell unconscious, he remembered the words of someone close to him.

"A part of you believes that your mom loves you, and there's nothing wrong with thinking that."

"...Mai?"

"I understand why, but you should not let the negative thoughts win."

"But, they're the truth..."

"It would be nice to hear your voice..."

After remembering that last line from the message his mom had left for him, Kaden forced his eyes open and gathered himself one more time.

"Proud? I haven't done a single thing in my life to be proud of."

Kaden's mom finally looked over to her son once he said those words. The shadows on the wall also stopped moving and seemed to be watching on.

"I dropped out of college because I was lazy, and I didn't even attempt to look for a job. The only reason I was able to live so carefree was because I got lucky. Winning the lottery takes no skill whatsoever, so there's nothing to be proud of there. Even after I got that money, what did I do with it?" He asked while looking down. "I spent it all on dumb shit and used it as an excuse to run away from all of my responsibilities. I couldn't even send you a dollar out of all of that. Trust me, your son isn't anything to be proud of."

"DON'T SAY THAT!" She yelled out in anger as she jumped to her feet.

Kaden was shocked by her outburst and physically frozen in place at the same time. The crying baby's distorted voice returned back to normal, and the crying itself began to calm down.

"I don't care about any of that. Whether you believe it or not, I know you're smart, reasonable, and caring. You can accomplish so much as long as you have the motivation to. I, on the other hand, can't do anything."

Tears swelled up to the surface of her eyes and steadily flowed over the brim and down her face. She took gentle steps over to her son, who was still immobilized.

"From my family to my partner, there wasn't anybody who had expectations for me, except for you. You expected me to stay with you, and I wasn't able to do that. So once again, I'm sorry Kaden. I'm a better example of someone who wasn't able to accomplish anything. Well, there was one thing I could say I was proud of."

She pulled his head down slightly while simultaneously, resting her own head against his chest. The dark and gray apartment began to slowly brighten with rays of light from the outside.

"I'm happy that I gave birth to you. I'm proud to say that you are my child."

.....

Instead of fading away into darkness, Kaden's subconscious was engulfed by an ever-growing white light. It wasn't long until Kaden once again regained feeling in his body.

"For a second there, it honestly wasn't looking good again." A voice said to Kaden. "Good for you for working it out."

"What's this now? Who's talking? I've heard this voice before."

"Oh yeah, we've never been properly introduced. I already know who you are, Kaden Adams. As for myself, you can call me N."