Chapter 63 - Miscalculations

"Aether! Aether!" Erik screamed, he stormed through the forest letting the fire evaporate anything and everyone in his way. Injured students scrambled away in fear and slight panic when catching sight of him. Of course, they didn't leave without shooting Erik and confused and almost curious gaze.

Erik tried his best to ignore such stares. It was after all, unheard of for him to be calling out for his child in what seemed like worry in the eyes of others. His disheveled appearance only added onto the look, making the stares even worse.

He seethed. The flames dancing around him consumed everything and the poor students scurried away, a couple more burn injuries appearing on their bodies. To them, those injuries were nothing in comparison to the scene they got to witness.

"Erik. Enough. Your pointless shouting will do nothing, but scare away some creatures." His wife followed close behind him. Her face stoic as she doused every fire with her water ability. 

"How can you be so calm?" He seethed. "Our child might have been taken by those bastards of the Gelani Empire!" 

Her eyes narrowed at his tone of voice and she crossed her arms.

Erik went silent.

"You know better than anyone that if he was taken then they couldn't have gone far." She watched as Erik twitched, "But, that's only if he was taken." She walked up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Aether is intelligent. He knew how dangerous that man was when he saw him. He wouldn't have sent his butler over with a warning if he didn't. Plus he had three guards with him and his personal maid. He may seem hopeless when it comes to battle, but do not underestimate his intelligence. I'm sure he thought of something." 

"Father." Aria stepped through a couple of burnt trees, interrupting the two's conversation. Leon followed behind her. His clothes were bloodied, but he had no injuries. Aria on the other hand, had a couple of injuries on her arms and legs and her hair was disheveled. Despite this she was calm as she explained to her father what she was seeing. "I have located his string. It is still active, which means he is still alive, but…" she trailed off.

"But what." Erik narrowed his eyes, his hands clenching at his side. The hand on his shoulder tightened.

"But the black string is not allowing me to see where he is." Aria's voice was rather quiet as she spoke. Her eyes glanced away for a single moment before turning to look at her mother rather than her father. 

Erik frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Usually when I find a person's string I am able to locate them by following it, but when I try to follow Aether's string a black string attacks me and moves the string away." She frowned as she spoke, irritation leaking out, "I've never had something like this happen before. The strings are my domain not anyone else's." she mumbled the last part to herself.

"Your unique ability is yours and yours alone, but that does not mean that there are no greater powers out there." Her mother lightly chidded. 

Aria nodded in understanding.

"This black string." Her mother toyed with the words, "Is it hurting you?" 

Aria shook her head.

She hummed, "Is it hurting Aether's string?" 

Arai shook her head.

"How fascinating." 

Erik gazed at his wife. "What's so fascinating about an insufferable black string?" 

HIs wife did not turn to address him, but instead continued to ask Aria questions. "This black string. You've seen it before, correct?" 

Aria nodded, though this time more hesitantly. 

"Then that's good news." 

"How could this possibly be good news?" Erik butted in, "The black string is keeping us away from Aether!" 

"Erik." His wife snapped and Erik once more went silent. "If you would calm down then you would see that the answer we are searching for is right in front of us." She gestured to Aria, "Follow the black string." 

Erik's face scrunched up and his wife rolled her eyes. "If you would use your mind for once." She mumbled before speaking up, "The black string has been around Aether before. It's been seen multiple times with Aether's string, but it poses no harm towards Aether nor Aria. Therefore whoever this string is attached to must be an ally." 

Erik's face began to lighten up, "If that's the case then we that person might be protecting Aether right now. If we can follow the black string then we would also find Aether!" Erik beamed as he finished the thought process. He glanced at Aria, "Follow your mother's orders. Follow the black string."

"Yes." Aria nodded and closed her eyes. After a tense moment she opened them and began to walk in a random direction. 

They walked for only a couple minutes, but felt like an eternity to Erik before they stumbled across their first bloody scene. It did not faze them. Leon and Erik were the two to inspect the scene. They smiled in triumph when they figured out that the bodies lying dead on the ground all belonged to the Gelani Empire. 

"Continue." Erik commanded after he ripped a green bracelet with flowers carved into it from a corpse's body. He pocketed the item and continued to follow Aria. 

They came across three more battle worn scenes. Each more bloody than the previous. Until they finally came across an open clearing. 

It was as if they had left the forest. The grass was no longer green. The blood had long soaked in leaving the grass an ominous color. The sky even seemed darker. The blue sky from before was now clouded as if a dark mist had taken over the sky, not letting anything in or out. The trees that surrounded the clearing were normal on one side, but the side facing the clearing was burnt and twisted as if something had taken them and physically warped their bark.

To Erik's dismay only three figures were situated at the edge of the clearing and none of them were Aether's. 

The four ran up to the figures' sides. Erik duly noted that there were only two guards, one lay injured in the other's arms. He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the guards. Immediately Aria came over to their side and began to address their injuries. 

While they were being taken care of Erik and his wife kneeled on each side of Mina. They both observed the many wounds that littered her body, including the horrid scar that was slowly mending itself back together over her eye. From her wounds alone it was easy to see that she battled hard, but obviously it wasn't enough. 

"What happened?" 

Mina blinked, her eyes devoid of emotion. 

After waiting for a moment Erik gestured for his wife to ask again. 

She nodded, but this time she changed the question. She grabbed Mina's hand and held it in her own, with a gentle voice she said, "Mina. You did the best you could. Now. We need to know. Where is Aether?" 

Mina blinked and turned her gaze to her. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times before finally whispering, "He jumped." 

The four froze and without waiting a beat Erik and Leon rushed to the edge of the cliff. It was a straight drop, but from what they could see, there was not a body at the bottom. Shooting a look to his wife and Aria, Erik ran off to find a way down the cliff with Leon. 

It did not take them long to reach the bottom of the cliff. Erik gazed up, determining where Aether could have fallen. "Search the area for any sign of him." 

Leon nodded and began to rummage through the greenery. Erik followed suit, but instead of looking for any signs of blood or tracks, he looked for any signs of an ability being used. 

Erik frowned as he peered into the dense shrubbery. It was easy to miss if one were not looking carefully, but an inky chalky substance lingered on the bushes. It was not much, just a couple of specks, but it was enough for Erik. 

He clenched his hand as he gazed at the small specks that were slowly dissolving in front of his eyes. He knew what this was. He had seen it first hand. 

"Father." Leon called. Erik turned around and eyed the few articles of bloodied clothing in his hand. They were Aether's. 

He took the article of clothing in his hand. His fingers rubbed the bloodied fabric. The chalky substance from before was easy to feel against the smooth fabric. His eyes narrowed and he clenched the fabric in his hand. 

One thing was certain, Aether was safe from the Gelani Empire. He turned around, eyeing the forest, a dark look in his eyes.

Where did the monster take his son?

On the border of the Soline Kingdom and the Gelani Empire, a figure stumbled through the forest. A hand on their chest as they took deep breaths. A trail of blood followed their chaotic and hectic path. 

The young prince let out a hysterical laugh as he leaned against a tree. 

"A..a monster. Ha! They were hiding such a thing in the Palace." He chuckled, his eyes crazed, "To think that they-Hahahahaha!" He let out a long sigh, the smile on his lips dropping. 

"I miscalculated." He shakily stood up and contiuned on his way. His face hidden by the shadows.