33 Chapter 33 - the Ritual

Authors note: [...] Is supposed to be in italics, but doesn't show up here, so this indicates that the words in the brackets happened in the past. Enjoy.

"Are you sure?" Eric faced the window looking out at the storm that was brewing.

"I can not say for sure, but a string that has disappeared can never return." Aria stood at her fathers desk. Her arms behind her back and her back straight, an identical posture to Leon who stood next to her.

Knowing full well that the information she held was too important to be kept to herself, she had wasted no time in arranging a meeting with their father upon their return. Unsurprisingly he didn't seem surprised at the sudden audience, nor at her words.

Her eyes narrowed, 'Had he known all along that something was amiss?'

"A string that disappeared and yet the person is still alive." Their father mumbled. "Tell me, was this the first time you had seen his string do such a thing?"

Aria bit the inside of her cheek. She had seen many strings fade and disappear during her time at war, but she had only seen the case of a strong reappearing only once. She had kept the secret of Aether's possible death to herself the night she had witnessed the weakening of his string. She had assumed that no one would care that someone so insignificant in their family would perish, so she didn't bother in saying anything, but now? Now she was in the wrong. She withheld information and that alone could cost her.

"No." She gritted out, "The day he was poisoned at school, his string was already in the process of disappearing."

"And yet, he walked the next day." Their father mused.

"Yes." Aria gulped. "A string that is flickering to the point of dissolving in front of me indicates death. I have never seen a person survive after their string begins to flicker."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That Aether has been replaced?" Leon butted in. He scowled as he glared down at her.

She scoffed, "No. Despite the obvious signs that Aether is no longer the Aether we knew, his body is still Aether's body." After a moment of silence she added, "His eyes, his body, every little detail about his body is exactly the same. I made sure of it."

Leon rolled his eyes, "Could it be that you simply missed something?" He gave her a cocky grin as he spoke, "just because a string has never done it before doesn't mean that it can't happen. What if this is a new phenomenon that you were unaware of."

Aria bristled, "Do not underestimate my abilities, I know full well the expanse of my own unique ability. Don't go assuming that I don't comprehend my own ability when you don't even understand yours." She turned to face Leon, her head held high and her eyes fierce.

Leon scoffed, "So, what's your explanation on why Aether's string disappeared and yet he is still alive? Huh? Can't explain it can you." His voice darkened.

Aria gritted her teeth. Her hands clenched at her sides. She didn't want to admit that Leon was right, but she had no explanation on what she had witnessed. "Then what do you think?" She bit back, "If you are oh so knowledgeable about my unique ability, then why don't you tell me what it means?"

Leon's nose crunched up, "Simple, whatever had happened to him at that school messed with his mind. His string flickering could have been an effect of whatever poison they fed him, leading him to have slight memory loss when he regained consciousness."

Aria faltered, her eyes wide in disbelief. She hummed and put a finger to her chin, "You have a point." She mumbled, "It would explain his strange behavior."

"No." Their father's voice cut through the room like a knife causing the two to stiffen back into their uptight postures, "Although your memory loss is a plausible explanation," Leon perked up at that, "that wouldn't explain how he knows so much about us." He stopped, letting the words sink in.

Leon and Aria both frowned.

"That's true. If it were memory loss, he wouldn't be able to remember things selectively, instead he would lose his memories at random and yet he seems to have no problem interacting around us as if he knows us just fine." Aria said, her frown deepening as she spoke. "And yet…" A complicated look crossed her face.

"Go on." Their father encouraged her. A smile making its way onto his face.

"We…we haven't interacted with him since he was five." She said, her voice coming out strained, "How could he act so calmly around us if he has never been near us since he was five? He should be terrified of us. He should have stayed away and yet he willingly interacted with us."

An eerie silence filled the room. The two siblings stared at one another in deep thought, though the sickening realization that someone that wasn't Aether was around them this entire time did little to ease their minds.

Erik moved to a bookshelf in the corner of the room. He stood silently with his hands behind his back as he gazed with little interest at each book.

"When I was a child I happened upon a book that told an interesting story about an old magic."

Aria and Leon gazed at their father with furrowed eyebrows.

"Old magic?" Aria repeated, the words heavy on her tongue.

Their father hummed, "Old magic is something that the likes of you would never hear about." He glanced at her with eyes that held a meaningful look, "Old magic had been banned in the Kingdom for over a century now."

"Then-how?"

"Just because it was banned in our Kingdom doesn't mean it was banned in other Kingdoms."

The two siblings froze. They knew that their father had been to other Kingdoms for war, but to look at a book? Their eyes narrowed. What had their father not been telling them?

Erik ignored their questioning gazes and reached for a book, "The old magic spoke of a ritual that could bring a soul into another body."

"What!" Aria exclaimed.

"That's no possible!" Leon followed suit.

The look of astonishment on their faces was identical.

"If there was such a magic, then why have we never heard of it before?" Aria asked. If a magic as powerful as that existed then the Soline Empire would have at least some history of its use, they wouldn't just outright ban it for no reason. 'Someone must have used it before.'

Erik's eyes narrowed. "The ritual is dangerous and the results…were always catastrophic."

[A child sits in the small storage room with the book spread out in front of him. He read the words like it was food.

The door swung open and the book was ripped from his hands. "You should not be reading this." His father placed the book back on the shelf.

"But why?" The child's eyes were sharp. He knew a powerful spell when he saw one. "If we can bring a more powerful soul that could help us win a war then-"

"No!" His father yelled, slapping him across the face, "This ritual-this book!" He gestured towards the bookshelf, "It holds dangers far greater than you can imagine."]

"Father, what is required of this ritual for it to work?" Aria asks. Ignorant of what was going through her fathers mind.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Their father laughed, his head falling back. How comical it was that his children had the same mindset as him.

After a while he calmed down, switching from the book he was about to grab to a drink that was placed on his desk. He took a sip and let out a small chuckle.

"The host body needs to die."

Aria and Leon went silent.

"Hahahaha! What's wrong? Can't handle a little death." He mocks.

["Kill her! Kill It! We can't let it survive!"

The child watches from afar as the village goes up in flames. The carriage door closes in his face as fire erupts from around them. His father is barking order next to him and the carriage begins to move at an alarming pace. His hand touches the slightly warm window of the carriage as he gazes out at the growing flames.

The last thing he sees is a woman laughing in the flames, her horrid cries drowned out the pained screams. He could only watch as her tears, so bright and clear, a stark difference to her surroundings, fell to the ground elegantly.]

"How," Aria pauses, taking a deep breath, "How does it work? Does there need to be multiple people? Or can someone perform it on their own?" Her words came out rushed.

Erik gazes at his reflection in the cup, "A person can not perform the ritual by themselves. They would need at least six additional people." He glances up, meeting Aria's eyes, "I know what you are thinking. And you are right to question it. No one would be there to help Aether perform such a ritual and there would be no way for Aether to have found such a ritual." He placed the cup down.

["Get rid of them all."

"But Your Majesty-"

"NO! Burn them. Burn everything to do with that ritual. I don't want such a thing to be performed in my Kingdom ever again."

The child watches as his father bows, "Yes, Your Majesty." His fathers voice wavers.]

Erik looks down, his eyes focused on the liquid in the cup before him, "But that's the strange thing about this ritual."

[The child flips through the stolen book one last time. His fingers glide across the words associated with the unknown figure standing elegantly before the ritual circle.]

"There are two ways for this ritual to be performed."

[The banquet was in full bloom. The soft clinking of glass and chatter echoed through the hall.]

"One is through the help of six individuals who not only represent each ability, but who also have a strong control over their designated ability. The other…"

[A figure stands tall in the middle of a small crowd. Words of praises and laughs surround him. Yet the young man seems to slowly turn into himself, his smile fading with every passing second, but no one seems to notice the small changes.]

"Is for a god to interfere."

[A figure dressed extravagantly to fit in with the crowd walked through with a book in their hand. The people would catch eye of the stunning person, but a moment later they forgot what they were looking at and went back to their conversations.

No one noticed the figure approaching the young man.]

"A god? That's not-"

"Not possible?" Erik scoffs, "It may seem impossible, but how else would you explain Aether? Hm?" He cocked his head to the side, "I also don't believe in such things, but…" He pauses, smirking, "I have always been told that God's work in mysterious ways. That they only make themselves present when the situations are so dire that no one can fix them."

["Hello." The figure greets, but doesn't introduce themselves.

"Hello." The young man greets in response.

"You have never met me, but I have heard a lot about your expertise and intelligence when it comes to literature and I was wondering if you would be willing to take a look at a book I am working on." The figure pushes the book she was holding into the other's hands.

The young man pursed his lips, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he held the paper book in his hands. "I-"

"I know, it's kind of weird to be asked this by a stranger, but I'm really self conscious and I would really value your opinion." The figure glanced down, their eyes downcast as they spoke softly.

The young man's heart ached for the other. He glanced at the book once more, flipping it open to the first page. "The Flower of Soline."

"Yes." The figure smiled, "It's a beautiful name, no?"

"Yes it is. What is it about?"

The figure's eyes softened, "I can't tell you that. You'll have to read it for yourself."

"Okay."]

"Perhaps we should thank whatever god has given us this opportunity." Erik Laughs, "To have replaced that useless child with a soul that is more intelligent than perhaps anyone in all the Kingdoms, ha, to think that we would be this lucky." A cruel and dark smile graced his face.

"A gift as valuable as this can not slip into others hands. Do you understand?"

Aria and Leon nodded. Their hearts beat against their chest as they attempted to stand up straight.

Leon frowned, "But, how can we be sure that a god was the one to intervene?" He glanced at Aria than at his father, "If a god did intervene then shouldn't there be signs?"

"Hm," Erik closed his eyes briefly and nodded, "If a god did intervene then there should be a mark somewhere on Aether's body."

"A mark?"

"Yes, anything that looks abnormal. It may seem like a permanent making or a faded out scar." He glanced up at them, his head tilted a little higher than usual.

Aria and Leon noticed the look and immediately stood tall.

"In the next day I expect one of you to have found the mark, understood."

"Yes Sir!"

"Good." Erik threw his hand in the air, dismissing the two, but Aria stood still. Leon glanced back at her and stopped as well.

"Father, I have one more concern." Aria paused, "If a god has indeed intervened doesn't that mean that something has happened that no one can fix?"

"An issue that no one can fix." Erik mumbled more to himself than the others.

Knock Knock

"Come in." Erik called out.

Bert came in with his head lowered, "Pardon the intrusion Master, but it seems that a guest has arrived for Young Master Aether."

"A guest?" Erik glanced at Aria and Leon, the latter whose face was slowly losing color. "What guest?" He gritted out.

"The Third Prince Nox."