Crying for Help
[Aero Vermilion]
"Sorry, I got to go now…"
"E**, a*****y!"
"E**, a*****y!"
'This two cuties, what would I do without them.'
I caressed their soft red hair, "Don't worry. I will finish it as quickly as possible."
"W*** a***t t** s***y?" the boy of the pair asked.
"Sorry, I really gotta go. Somebody had to handle the Calamity. And you don't have to worry about the story. It will still go on. We won't want our readers to wait after all."
Both of them just tilted their heads in response.
'Maybe it is still too early for them?'
"Anyway, maybe you two will get another perspective of the story from an unbiased point of view. Oops, look at the time… I'm off!"
"C*** ba** s*f**y, Aero!" the girl of the pair shouted.
"Of course!"
I gave them one last look before exiting out of the metal door. It's cold outside. Within this door, those two will be safe. In the far distance you could see the sky cracking.
'The heaven is falling apart…'
I wonder where things went wrong? When did things get this worse?
'I'm sorry you two. Maybe I won't go out unscathed from this battle.'
From the cracks in the sky a pair of black hands could be seen trying to pry open the chasm.
I looked at the timer on my top right corner. They were bloody red, reading; [00.01.00] and still counting down.
"Aite, time for round three!" I hype myself up as I raised my arm and stretched my arms.
'Even if the sky falls, I will shoulder them all…'
---
Memories started to fill the void in his mind. They also calmed his restless heart. The boy started to recognize things that he saw.
When he saw the blue moon, he called out to its name, Lani. The blue moon, Lani. Hearthia one and only moon. This proved that he was really out of The Mine.
"You okay there, buddy?" Master popped his head out from the side.
"You're blocking the good view!"
"Since you could chirp like that I will take it as you are fine then," Master shrugged his shoulders.
"That's the Aqua Moon, Lani. The very treadmark of Hearthia. In Hearthia there was only one moon unlike other worlds. Hence it was named to commemorate it uniqueness."
"It seems like you finally got your memory back."
"Well, not all. I could still not recall what happened that day. All I can remember is that it was my birthday then."
Aero thought that even though he knew his memories were back he could not recall all of them perfectly.
'Maybe with visual stimulation like Lani, I will start to remember things more?'
Aero had such thoughts and wanted to ask Master for his opinion.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. We don't know how much you don't remember after all. So it is better to take things slow," but Master beat him to it.
'Can you stop doing that?!'
"Hehe, I'll try," Master could only shamelessly scratch the back of his head.
Deep down, Master had his own struggle. Aero did not know this but his Gift, [Mind Eye], worked like Aero's Gift. They were passive Gifts. Twenty four hours, seven days a week, they were always active.
For people like Aero and Master, the thing that their struggle was the unending input their Gifts brought them.
That was why Aero always deemed his Gift to be a curse. Even when his memories were blocked by The Mine's system, he could not forget the curse that was his Gift.
"You said you wanted to take me on a tour of the city. Let's go," Aero tried to change the topic. He saw a glimpse of sadness in Master from his earlier comment.
Being an empath from a tender age, Aero knew that maybe Master also struggled to control his Gift.
Master read what was on Aero's mind and knew his concern for him. This time he did not call out to Aero's thoughts and only replied with a cheerful, "Let's go."
That was how he had managed all this time. To respond just to the external words.
The pair made their way into the city. But another incident happened just as they were crossing the city's transparent wall.
Aero's body fell down with a thud.
'Not again!'
"What is it this time?"
Aero knew what was happening but he still felt reluctant to tell Master about it. Then a thought flashed in his mind…
"Fufufu, look who's so excited for the city tour when in fact he couldn't even lift a finger right now," Master chuckled.
Master decided to call out to Aero's thoughts and Aero couldn't reprimand him this time because it was true.
"The tour will have to wait for another day it seems," Master said as he took Aero by the hand. Both of them flashed away.
---
"Must it be teleportation?" Aero whined.
He had had enough of teleportation for the day. Sure the first one got him out of The Mine and the second one brought him here to Estria. But the third one was unnecessary in his opinion.
Master could just carry him through the city to wherever place Master wanted to bring him to. But because of the recent teleportation, he missed all of the fun.
"That could wait for another time. For now you rest."
Master was firm in his decision. He wanted Aero to recuperate to his peak as soon as possible before he started interrogating Aero about the incident that happened in his world home.
Information is power and right now the whole world did not know what happened that day. Aero was the first witness he got hold off. Aero's other family members were still missing to date but Master thought that news could also wait for another time.
"Here is your room," Master showed Aero to one of the rooms along the hallway.
They were transported to a dimly lit hallway made of marble. It was the embodiment of luxury but Aero did not even register them in his mind.
He would not confess this but he was dead tired.
"Go and take a bath. After that just follow this hallway to the dining room. I'll wait there," Master instructed.
Aero did not give any response and just walked towards the bathroom to clean himself.
Quite spacious, the bathroom was. There, a change of clothes was already prepared for him on the vanity. A tub of warm water was also there to greet his tired body.
Without thinking much of it, Aero closed the door and started to strip.
This was his first bath in a month. He could not afford water for bathing when he was struggling even for a sip of water for his parched throat. But that life was behind him now.
The Mine will remained his dark history.
He tested the tub water with his hand.
"Perfect."
Dipping one leg at a time, Aero could feel the fatigue washed off his body. Submerging his body in the warm water, his mind started to get clear. The tiredness was still there but he could think clearly now.
When reasons came back to him, his first priority aligned with Master's. He tried to remember what happened that day. He could only remember the trivial bits of it.
"There was a birthday celebration. Mine to be exact. It was all peaceful until, until…" and his memory ended there.
'Maybe I should take this slowly. One step at a time. Maybe The Mine's restriction takes time to fully wear off.'
Aero stayed there for quite a moment. Silently thinking of nothing. Giving his mind a breather. A chance to rest. He gazed to the window beside the tub, overlooking all of Hearthia in its entirety.
From this view, he knew he was in a tall building. He could see the still lively city of Heathia. The architecture of the building was a blend between modern and traditional. But they still give off an ancient city vibe.
'This is the City of Memories after all. One of the oldest cities in Estria.'
Aero stayed there, silently gazing at the scenery before him for a good ten minutes. He was dazed. The only thing that broke his bubble was the rumbling of his tummy.
'It's time, I guess.'
He got out of the bath and dried himself with a clean white towel prepared for him. When he looked back into the bath, he could see how dirty he was. The water was all murky now.
'Whatever,' he thought as he put the clothes in.
They were white pajamas with blue trims. The size fit him perfectly.
Aero looked at the pajamas and decided not to think too much about it.
"Whatever."
He got out of his room and went to the dining room. It was just a straight path from his room to his destination. There, Master was already waiting for him, sipping on a mug of coffee.
"That took you a while."
"It is my first bath in a month," Aero replied nonchalantly.
Master noticed his indifference to his teasing and thought that Aero was too tired to amuse him.
"Alfie, serve the prince his dinner," Master instructed to the only other person in the room.
He was a man with silver hair tied to a ponytail. He nodded his head and served Aero a bowl of warm soup with some freshly baked bread.
This meny was specially made with Aero in mind. Master already instructed Alfie to prepare something hearty but gentle for the stomach.
Master knew that the meal in The Mine was bad from just looking at Aero's build. He was malnourished without a doubt.
So, Master and Alfie wanted to feed him full but at the same time still care for his belly condition. On the other hand, Aero thought was a bit jumbled as soon as he saw the steaming soup.
His mind was preoccupied with instant flashes of some scenery he couldn't make out of.
He couldn't make out the scenery but he could hear the voices clearly.
"A*w*… A*wo*!"
"A*w*… A*wo*!"
Two small voices, a pair of a boy and a girl, crying his name.
They were crying for his help.