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, now more than ever."

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 all 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... your mother was originally without Virtue, like yourself. But the story of how she became a knight, one of the best in Galicia, is not as simple as never giving up."

Aldrich wasn't sure he understood. "But, it's all right there... in- in her journal."

Alastair shook his head solemnly. "Only the good parts. The truth is, your mother tried her hardest, even harder than you. When I met her I was amazed by her strength, a kind of strength not assigned at birth but earned. But there was a surge in the number of monsters around her town one day, no one knows what caused it. The whole town was overrun in seconds, there wasn't enough time to send word for help. I- I wasn't there to help. Even as all her Virtued allies fell around her she kept fighting, until her last breath."

"Last breath?", Aldrich repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"She was killed in battle." Alastair answered after a short pause. "According to her, she made a deal with the devil dragon. In exchange for a second chance at life as well as the power to wipe out any and all monsters, she would give something up of equal value."

Aldrich took a few seconds to process the information. It was a lot. "And what did the dragon want from her? I-in return."

"Her unyielding soul." Alastair stated, his eyebrows furrowed in a serious manner. "But He didn't take it immediately, instead He returned many years later. On... on the night you were born. At that moment the dragon surmised that that which was most important to her was no longer her own soul. But that of her child. Our child."

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 had told me the gist of what had happened in that town when my garrison and I found her as the lone survivor surrounded by countless bodies, both human and monster. It was unprecedented, but at the time there was no downside to be seen. But then the dragon came to collect it's due, and we fought against it... She did not survive. And in one night I lost both her and your soul. But then you began to cry, and I realized you weren't completely past saving. So then I made the decision to move to Yves, to get away from the past. To have a fresh start."

Aldrich knew the rest of the story. 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."

"So that's why I don't have a Virtue? Because of my soul."

"Yes." Alastair answered, getting off his desk. "Virtues are inherently tied to the souls of their bearers. A physical manifestation of them, if you will."

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.

"At first I thought we could forget the whole ordeal, and you could live a normal life even without a soul." Alastair explained. "So I tried to keep you away from this life, to stop you from drawing any kind of attention to yourself. But that didn't work out the way I wanted it to, and then Larian showed up. So I asked for the King's help in finding out how to break a devil's contract. But so far we've had no luck."

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 exact nature of 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 planning and work together with them instead.

He wondered when Larian and the princess would return.