248 A World Changed Forever

"You're alive!" Fen exclaimed as he ran down the stairs of the castle. He seemed just as surprised to see Aether as Aether was to see him. "I'm so glad – no one believed you'd actually be able to come back after…" His voice faded as he hesitated.

"Why are you here?" Aether asked with a flat voice. Why had he not returned to the world above? Why was he still in this damp, dark, dying place? 

Fen seemed slightly confused. "Do you mean down here?" He asked after a moment of silence, then awkwardly chuckled. "Ah, it's a long story."

"I have time – why haven't you returned to your own world?" Had the Lord dug his claws into Fen's loyalty somehow? What had happened during his absence?

Fen scratched his head. "Well… I chose to stay. Come on, let me tell you while we walk." He motioned Aether to follow him inside.