Chapter 431: Reminisce (3)

Sir Arthur and the rest of the interrogators once again focused on the image displayed on the mirror-like device. They watched with bated breaths as Aiden's group on the screen slowly inched closer to the source of the noise, which as they got closer and closer sounded like grunts… muffled cries?

Suddenly a grave, ominous thought washed over Sir Arthur and the rest. They dared not to voice out the conjecture of the notion they all shared as that would make their fears come true.

Though they were concerned about what they were about to see, and even though they were prepared for the worst, still what they saw was beyond their expectations.

As Aiden's group arrived in front of the door, even without any battle-hardened sensory skills, or Aiden's much more sensitive traits, the group had a pretty clear idea of what was on the other side.

The suppressed sound of a rough treatment slipped through the cracks of the door. Fists and legs hitting flesh followed by muted, faint cries reached the group. 

The occasional angered-sounding emotional yells and exclamation mixed in-between. The contents of the yells couldn't be deciphered, either by the dimming of the solid surface between them or that the words that were fired didn't sound anything like the group could understand.

Aiden and even Drake had a solemn, somber look on them as they gazed at the door.

"Can you feel it?" Drake asked with a heavy tone, his hands clenched into fists.

"Yeah." Aiden nodded, focusing on a particularly strong presence behind the small wooden barrier.

Before reaching for the handle, and stepping into this den of pain and suffering, the recent battles of the day flashed through his mind. The battle with the large eel-like monster with an especially strong mental presence… the small bipedal frog-like creatures… Although he was still in good shape, he wasn't sure about the rest of his party. 

Even though each of them displayed a strong presence, and didn't show any signs of weariness, he was certain that they were slowly but surely reaching their limits. What would be the best course of action then?

Giving it a few extra moments of thought, Aiden reaffirmed his resolve, deciding that if things turn for the worst he would rely on the many trump cards he still had at his disposal. With a strong, resolute look glimmering in his golden eyes, he slowly reached for the door handle before pushing it open…

The display on the device abruptly came to an end as the door creaked open. Sir Arthur, the General, the butler, Captain John, and the young representative of Higrove's Nobles were left in the dark. The screen however didn't turn off, but something seemed to block the related memory completely. 

The image didn't turn off, but instead was showing nothing but a muted, silent darkness. Still, faint emotions were still transmitted, seemingly escaping the clear signs of tampering. Emotions such as surprise with a hint of shock mixed into it, which slowly turned to anger, before everything turned into a cold resolution.

Seconds passed, turning into minutes, as nothing but these vague, faint feelings were the only things, that the group could process. Still, there were no visible, or even hidden changes coming from the boy in question. From what they could make out, two conjectures could be slowly made out.

The first was that the memory was tempered with, parts of it were removed, others were changed to display a version of the story. This was a feat that only very special existences should be capable of achieving. The level of power required to accomplish such a thing was not something many individuals in the entire continent could reach. 

Second, and this is a pretty easy assumption after the first: This isn't something that the boy is probably even aware of, as such a feat was beyond their capabilities. Also, it would make the questioning of the rest of the boy's party be utterly pointless. 

It would also make their focus on the captive be much more problematic. If even the boy's memories could be altered, who at the most had only a brief encounter with this powerful caster, what hope do they have for someone that was probably under his employ?

Unfortunately, if such a being was involved in the slowly unfolding situation, it would mean that the land, the Kingdom, and even the surrounding countries would be in grave danger.

Sir Arthur frowned at these thoughts. If his fear would come to reality, he feared the future of this land. How could they stop such a monstrous existence? Who would be even capable of such a thing?

If Aiden could hear Sir Arthur's thoughts, he would probably know if he should be laughing or crying at the whole situation. His cautiousness caused a misunderstanding that was rapidly spiraling out of control. 

While it wasn't entirely impossible for powerful forces backing the Empire, causing their hunger for conquest to flare up, at the very least this particular situation was caused by him, as a precaution to protect his friends and his secrets.

Still, he was unaware of the elders' troubled thoughts and misguided theories, he kept up the transfer process and recounted the events one after another.

Meanwhile, the chained captive, who without anything better to do, was glancing over the display whenever he could. He recognized the moment before the group of youngsters suddenly appeared and attacked them, but there was a lot of confusing information being transmitted. He knew what this device was, and knowing that there was no escape he was thinking of ways to end his life and protect the Empire's Plans at the very least.

However, what he could see made him question his understanding of this ancient artifact completely. The scenes didn't match the truth at all…

For once, they didn't just use the door but came from multiple directions. Second, there wasn't any torture happening behind the closed doors, but they were actually in contact with the leaders of the operation and were in a discussion to get confirmation on the launch date for the operation. 

Also, strangely, there was absolutely no mention of the envoy visiting them at all…

He turned to look at the long, black-haired boy with a complex, heavy look in his eyes. Why… No, there was a much more pressing question before that… HOW did the boy tamper with the images? Just who was this enigmatic figure?

He could still remember that otherworldly, heavy aura that descended on everyone in the room once the boy turned serious. His glowing golden eyes, that explosive, unknown, incomprehensible form of power… 

When he felt the pressure weighing on him and pushing him down on the ground, almost instantly disarming him and his entire group of highly trained, specialized group of soldiers as if they were mere greenhorns… He was confused, bewildered at first.

However, as he kept his attention, his focus on the boy staring him down at the room, he felt something strange… something else from him. He couldn't explain it at the time, but he somehow knew that whatever was staring down at him… wasn't human at all… But instead something else… something much more powerful, and stronger than anything he ever seen or heard before.

Something much more ancient…