Chapter 307: Remember!

"The question you should have started with, young one is the 'WHEN'. Tell me, do you know just exactly, WHEN are we?"

From his tone, a wide grin could be imagined on his blurred, spectral face. He was clearly enjoying the moment, giving a great contrast to the personality that Aiden was allowed to glance into so far.

Though, to be honest, all the other memories that kept flashing through his eyes were also stored in the back of his mind, mostly managed by the System and would be slowly merged with his existing persona, further shaping it without his direct knowledge… 

"What do you mean by when? Aren't we still in memory? Why would time matter here?" Thinking about the strange question for a moment, Aiden responded with a skeptical look. His body should still be in the same golden room, what does this question even mean? What should he care about the when? What matters are the details, and the information he could ascertain from the situation.

He needed knowledge, not just to free himself from the imaginary sword constantly hanging above his neck, but to also quell his rising thirst for the truth about his origins and supposedly acquired heritage.

So when he was thrown off the 'route' he already visualized and was asked such an unexpected and weird question, Aiden wasn't sure how to properly react at first. His mind was still filled with questions related to the leader, the lord, and the familiar traits they shared between themselves. 

The lordly visage chuckled at the youth's confused stare and doubt-filled inquiries. Taking his time to enjoy the moment, he eventually responded with the same cheery momentum.

"Yes, young one, you are right but also wrong at the same time." He started, pausing for a moment immediately when he saw that the confusion once again resurfaced in the boy's golden eyes, reaching their peak. Waving with his right hand in front of him, he watched as the dark, space of void rapidly transformed, showing a still image of the fated speech he made, addressing the last remnants of his people under the vermillion sky. 

It was a moment just a bit after the scene faded and Aiden was ejected from the memory. The transformed, monstrous army of Primals and he as their leader, were standing still, gazing towards the distance where the enemy's army was rapidly approaching.

Keeping his attention on the floating spirit of the boy whose eyes were plastered on the appearing image behind him, he spoke again. Just like at the start, his tone carried a gentle warmth, a strange kindness, and love that Aiden just couldn't understand.

"As you correctly guessed, your body is still back in the cave, your people call as the "Demon's Cave or Grotto" or something similar. Your soul, however, is in this limbo. This is a space, an 'in-between' if you prefer. Here, the concept of time is nonexistent."

"What do you mean by that?" Surprised by his words, Aiden shifted his attention and looked at the floating leader figure. 

"Here, in this space, there's no past and there's no future. Here, there's only the now, the present."

Aiden couldn't understand the meaning behind the spirit's words. How could time not pass? They are conversing, moving, and even watching a still image! Just what did he mean by that?!

Seeing how the confusion didn't ease up but instead continued to reach even higher and higher peaks in the boy's mind, the spirit chuckled and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Don't bother trying to comprehend it, boy. Not yet at least, ultimately this doesn't matter. Just accept the fact. We are currently in a special place, a world for spirits. What matters however is that you came with a reason. You wanted to understand more about the past, and what happened." He spoke, changing the subject, the cheery quip vanished from his voice, donning the same majestic, royal traits that he had when doing his speech in the vision.

Without turning around, he precisely pointed at the cloud of darkness that at this point stretched all around the faraway horizon. 

"What do you think, little one, what are they? What is this army that the memory and even the scenes you could find all over the hall mean? And more importantly, if the two sides clashed in such a glorious battle, how come there is no knowledge about this historical moment in your current era, why does nobody even remember our existence? How could even the true name of our race vanish from the minds of even the oldest of the current world, and become one of the banished, forbidden phrases?"

Although he was subjected to quite a few questions at the same time, Aiden didn't panic. Focusing on the image behind the lordly spirit, he gathered his thoughts, gathering all the clues he seen and picked up so far.

"Well, first I thought the images were only symbolic." He started, speaking with a thoughtful gaze, remembering the still depictions carved into the pillars. "But then, it was too visual… It felt… too real for some reason. 

He continued, subconsciously reaching for his heart atop his chest. 

"Then as the memories began to play out, I felt something I never felt before. My heart aches even just thinking back to it. It was as if… as if I was missing something, something dear to my heart…" 

He had to stop as his voice faltered, his eyes became blurry with all the emotions that seemed to be desperate to break through the dam and erupt with a ranging storm as sorrowful drops of tears.

"You are right. You do miss something. Just tell me Aiden, what do you think, who you are?" Instead of answering, the spirit continued asking questions, slowly guiding the boy to some unknown path.

"Who I am? I… I don't know. My earliest memory is from my early childhood. When I saw the light of the world, I was in the Forest, by the stream of some river with Granny and my sister, Lily by my side…" Aiden truthfully answered, not hiding anything from the spirit.

However, the answer seemed to be not what the lordly spirit wanted to hear. Shaking his head, he waved his right hand again, causing the still image behind his change. From the vermillion sky and the soon-to-be bloodied clearing, the image changed into a dark and damp little cave. The cave was devoid of any light, but still, despite that a small blueish amorphous blob could be seen as it slowly wobbled, ripples traversing through its surface as it moved towards the closest wall.

Looking at it, suddenly a jolt of pain bolted through Aiden's spiritual body, causing incredible, tremendous agony all over him. He crumbled, falling to an invisible platform. Though the jolting pain originated from his head, it wreaked havoc all over his body.

This was way over the limit of what he could withstand, this was not physical or even mental damage. This… whatever this was it afflicted his soul directly. Rolling on the invisible platform, squirming and spasming uncontrollably, he cried, roared into the void.

Seeing this the lordly spirit remained unphased, he stood still as he watched the boy go over what he believed was necessary. The boy needed to shatter the chains placed on him, destroy the barrier that barred his memories. He needed to remember who he was, how he came to be, and what his true purpose was. He needed to remember his past lives, the grand meeting with the being standing above all, and the grand quest he was supposed to carry out.

---

Back in the 'real' world, the small ball of light, residing in Aiden's Soul Space was staring at the darkness with a worried, concerned expression. She knew that when his locked memories will be finally released and he will remember once again, he may come to resent her for what she had done. Still, she hoped that he would be able to understand that what she did was necessary at the time, he had no other way… Hopefully, he will understand that all she did was for his benefit only. 

She hoped that he will understand how deeply rooted her affection and love for him ran. That despite the limitation and rules that she had to adhere to, she did everything she could to ensure the safety of the one dearest to her… No matter the distance of the worlds, time, and space, she will always love him…

The little spirit sighed turning around and going back to the depth of darkness, making sure that the prison would not be broken, and the entity locked away would not escape. That was not something that she could allow. Not now, not ever. Not again.

---

Eventually, gradually the pain subsided, the spasms stopped. Aiden could finally feel some relief, his spiritual body could relax. 

Slowly he sat up, his eyes were glimmering with bright golden light, he looked at the spirit looking at him with a calm stature. 

"Do you know now?" The lordly spirit asked with matching cool in his tone, to which the boy simply nodded.

"Yes. I know, now. I remember."