Chapter 99: Siblings and Artifacts

"I need a few minutes to pinpoint her location, in the meantime, try not to run along okay?" Number 3 said as she looked at Aiden. Even if the mask covered her facial expressions, the sarcastic undertone was clearly heard by the boy.

Aiden didn't react to the remark at all, instead silently walked to the lone window to get a grasp of his surroundings. Without the aid of Enya, he felt naked, as if he lost a crucial part of his being. He had trouble getting accustomed to this new situation. 

The section of the city they were at was completely different from what he remembered the city to be. In his memories, there were tall buildings, clean streets, pavement, signs, and busy townsfolk going to their everyday lives. 

Compared to his memories, what he saw when he looked through the transparent glass felt like a run-down village in the middle of a swamp. Mud and dirt replaced the clean pavement, run-down dilapidated, crumbling wooden huts and shacks instead of tall and proud buildings. Instead of busy townsfolk, you only saw the occasional stares from the corners and shadows.

A lonesome, dirty beggar was sitting in the mud lonely and miserably. He looked at the poor fellow, but he wasn't paying attention to his pitying look, his thoughts were elsewhere. He had his own issues, he had to reflect on his own issues in the little downtime they had.

He also had trouble keeping his emotions in check. Just the mere thought of his sister being in trouble caused his emotions to erupt, he could hardly contain his rage. He feared that if he couldn't get a grasp on them, he would go berserk, and hurt anyone he could reach regardless if it would be friend or foe.

'What should I do? Enya, if you would be with me, you would probably know the answer to my problems… Perhaps you knew about it already and you tried to warn me, but I just ignored you…'

Focusing on his system, he navigated through the menu and enlarged his map. Thanks to the magic of the system, he had a vague idea of where he was, as the system kept the section of the map that he discovered years ago. Looking at the large square and the General Store at the end of it, he smiled.

Gazing at the green rectangle that symbolized the store building where Mr. And Mrs. Norton lived, he couldn't help but smile as he thought back to the time they visited them. It was one of his treasured memories of this lifetime.

'I wonder… how are they now? Do they still have the store? I think it would do us good if we would visit them after all of this is resolved…' he mumbled.

While Aiden was lamenting on his own existence, Granny silently watched him. She also had quite a few questions that she wanted to discuss with the boy, but all of those could wait. What mattered the most was the safety of Lily and obviously Aiden. 

Looking at his back she walked closer, and by placing his left hand on his shoulder, she looked at him, and with a gentle smile on her face, she asked.

"How are you holding up, dearie? You had a serious injury and have just woken up. The elixir probably helped but I can't imagine that it alleviated all the pain."

Aiden looked at the caring elder, then at her left hand resting on his right shoulder. Then as he returned his gaze to the lonesome beggar out on the street, he spoke. Although he tried to conceal his bubbling emotions and force a monotone emotionless voice, the occasional fluctuations were noticed by the experienced woman.

"No, there is no pain anymore. I'm fine. Once we get Lily back, I…" he stopped his trail of thoughts. Exhaling deeply, his attention turned towards the corner of a nearby building where a pair of eyes were gazing at their direction under the cover of a brown linen hood. 

"...we might be having some company soon." he changed the subject, alerting Granny. Following the direction, he was gazing with her eyes, she also noticed the suspicious figure. 

"I see." looking at Number 3 who was still deep in her chant, she returned her focus to the hiding fellow. 

"She still needs some time. Let's not do anything hasty, and don't let him notice we saw him Aiden. He might just be a lookout."

"Uhm." Aiden hummed in response, as he switched his attention back to the beggar. He had already marked the guy in his system's map, so as soon as he makes any movement, he will know about it, even without actively focusing on him.

If there wouldn't be the chance that his actions would endanger Lily, Aiden would have already rushed out and ripped the bastard to shreds, just to satiate his thirsting emotions, even if only just a bit. Even just the thought of doing it, causing his emotions to ripple inside him, forcing him to close his eyes and push these thoughts down deep into the back of his mind.

"Let's just wait then." He muttered.

---

Unbeknownst to him that he had already been discovered, the figure, Drake was hiding behind the crumbling walls of a shack just a few buildings away, watching the point where he believed the owner of the third artifact was hiding.

He was nervously gripping the handle of his sword and felt the warmth of the gem as it continued to emit a faint blue light. 

"Who would have thought that I would have the chance to meet with another. Who could it be? I know for a fact that sis is not here, but then who? One of my brothers? He should also know about me by now, but then, why isn't he coming out? What could have happened?"

As his thoughts raced, he thought back to his old man, the bastard who was the cause of all his siblings suffering. Gritting his teeth in anger a tear escaped through the corner of his eye, escaping from his eternal prison and agilely slithering down across his face. 

Closing his eyes, he silently breathed in some air, trying to control his thoughts. Rationalizing, there was a chance that the artifact holder could be an enemy, and not one of his siblings, even if he didn't want to think about that possibility.

No, these were powerful items, artifacts, relics from the past. They held many incredible secrets, a few mere nobles or thugs shouldn't even be able to spot them if the artifact itself didn't want to. 

Artifacts are relics from a bygone era with incredible powers inside them. Some of the most powerful artifacts, such as the ones he and his siblings were carrying were so powerful that the swirling mass of energy did awaken some resemblance of sentience. While it couldn't be considered a 'living being', they had a will of their own, and unless the items themselves accepted their handlers as owners, they wouldn't be able to utilize their wondrous properties.

The sword he was carrying for example was his father's before he eventually received it. On the day when his siblings were taken away with their respective artifacts, the sword denied his old man, and no amount of pleading, begging or even force could make it accept him any longer.

Maybe it was destiny, maybe it was his punishment, but on that night, the king, his father lost his sword. When a few days later it was presented to his only remaining son may have felt the resentment, the thirst for revenge inside the boy, he immediately accepted him.

As he grabbed the hilt of the sword, he could feel the presence of something connecting with him. The being couldn't converse, but Drake could feel its will, its intentions, its desire to be reunited with the other artifacts. 

He understood that similarly to him, the sword also feels the same resentment towards his father just like him. It wanted the same thing, and it could also feel his desire for the same. The sword reached out, and Drake listened. They formed a strong bond then and there, they weren't master and subject, but as equals, as partners, as friends...

Easing on his tight grip on the hilt, he gently caressed the pommel, while he mumbled. 

"Calm down, I know. I know it is inside, but we can't be hasty. We don't know who is inside, he or she might not be friendly."

As he spoke, he felt the vibrations of the gem inside the pommel. As if he understood what the sword was trying to convey, he looked at the hilt with a surprised expression.

"Are you sure? You can do that?!"

The gem vibrated briefly once again, and as its thoughts connected with Drake's mind, he looked at the hilt with a stern expression sitting on his face.

"If that's the case, we have no choice. I can't waste this chance. We need to know what happened to my siblings…"

Turning around, he stuck to the shadows and covers as he slowly circled around and closed in on the building from behind.