The Statue

Aaron followed the male elf as they made their way along a strange corridor. Aaron could feel mana emanating from the walls, although he couldn't tell what the mana's purpose was. Was it to give off a sense of foreboding?

The air slowly began to get thicker and thicker, although it didn't affect Aaron at all. He didn't have lungs. The only reason he could tell was because of the elf. The elf had begun to slow down and was coughing violently. "Are you alright?" Aaron asked the elf, trying to make sure it was simply the air. "Ye...ah. How are you not being affected by this mana-infused air?" The elf responded, coughing in between every few words.

"It's a little talent I have. Let me help you breathe." Aaron replied as he lifted his hand. He created a barrier around him and the elf, making it so that only clean, non-mana-infused air could pass through. Should you ask how it works, you wouldn't get an answer, as Aaron doesn't know himself. It just 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, alright?

After a few moments, the elf stood up, breathing normally once again. The elf was surprised at what was going on. The elf couldn't see any visible change, yet there was no longer any mana-infested air in their lungs. People that lived above-ground weren't used to breathing in dense quantities of mana, and when it happened, the body couldn't handle it, so it caused bursts of violent coughs.

The pair walked continued walking along the corridor until they eventually reached their destination. A giant room where a figure sat on a large throne of stone. Almost like it was a king of old. Aaron looked into its eyes and saw them flash a blinding white.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡?" A loud male voice boomed from the statue.

"I have asked to test my abilities as a summoner or as a magician in general. Is this where I do it?" Aaron asked, recoiling back slightly at the loud voice.

"𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧. 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛, 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣!" The statue exclaimed, as it began to stand up.

"Alright, I will!" Aaron yelled in response before acknowledging what the statue said. "Wait a second! How did you know that I was inhuman?"

"𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙎𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙣. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙." The voice replied as the male elf looked at Aaron with fear and shock in his eyes. Aaron just laughed and took off his helmet, revealing his face to the elf. The puzzle pieces clicked in his mind, and he now realised why the person he guided here wasn't affected by the mana-infused air. He didn't have lungs!

"No point in hiding it around you, is there? Now, what would impress you the most?" Aaron asked with a cheery tone in his voice.

"𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩!" The statue answered, as it began to laugh like a maniac. "𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩!"

"You think so low of me? Let me show you TRUE fear! I know the perfect thing to summon!" Aaron yelled out as a black portal appeared beside him. It confused both the elf and the statue, as neither had seen this summoning method before. It must be a monster thing. They witnessed a skeleton identical to Aaron step out from the portal, and the statue just looked shocked for a second before laughing like mad. "𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜?! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚?!"

"Alternate me, use Ultimate. You know which skill I'm talking about." Aaron said to the alternate version of himself. The skeleton nodded, and suddenly the gravity in the room got hundreds of times heavier. He wasn't using Boundless Gravitational Manipulation, but it was just a tiny part of the aura he had decided to exert. He didn't need to make all of his aura available, just enough to scare the statue.

The statue was shaking right before Aaron as it sat back into its chair, falling silent for a minute before speaking again.

"𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩...𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙮𝙤𝙪?! 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙪𝙧𝙖?! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙡 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙨𝙤 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤?! 𝙃𝙤𝙬?!" The statue mumbled as it tried to understand what just happened. It didn't know how to cope with the aura around it. The elf was lying flat on the floor, unable to stand up due to the sheer pressure he was feeling.

"Indeed I can, statue. How does it feel to be in the presence of someone who can kill you in an instant? I could snap my fingers, and you would die. No exceptions. Your mind would break, and I don't think that you would have any abilities or skills to protect yourself against that, do you?" Aaron replied, signalling to the alternate Aaron to turn off Ultimate. It turned off Ultimate and then left by the black portal beside Aaron. It was impressive to see. Aaron watched as the statue began to ease up whilst still having a power crisis.

"𝙈𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙎𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙣?" The statue asked, surprising Aaron. "Call me Aaron, and sure. What do you need?" Aaron responded, trying to make sure nothing stupid went wrong. "𝘼𝙡𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝘼𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙣. 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘? 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄'𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜! 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧!" The statue requested, placing its hands infront of its chest, almost like it was praying. It must really want the information.

"Well, aren't you eager? I think I know of a way that we could do that." Aaron replied as he lifted his arm out, watching as it turned into a black goop. "Would you mind if I ate you?"