Unfamiliar Pain

Luke washed himself in the water of the pool, filling his tankard and dumping the cool water over his body. It was lucky the castle seemed to always be warm, even hot in some places otherwise Luke would have worried about getting a cold.

After rubbing the water into his wounds, he sighed in relief as they began to close, leaving a scar on his shoulder, one on his chest, and another on his left arm just above his chains.

Once he was clean Luke began to dress himself once more, putting his bloodied and ragged shorts back on, but forgoing the shirt. It was too ruined to wear any longer, especially with the newest tear in the shoulder. Besides it wasn't like anyone was in the castle to see his half nakedness anyways. Well, besides Aerin but he knew she could see through his clothes either way.

With the warm atmosphere of the castle, he wasn't worried about getting cold, so he didn't see any real point in wearing the ruined shirt. As he settled on the grass, sitting with his legs crossed, he leaned back on his two hands and let out a tired sigh.

While he still had plenty of energy thanks to the berry he'd eaten earlier, there was a level of mental exhaustion that came after dangerous fights. As fun as he found them, he was still new enough to defend his life that part of him still felt shaken after the experience.

As he sat there thinking back to all that had happened to him since his arrival on the planes, he heard someone approaching him slowly. For an instant he felt a sense of panic, wondering if something had gotten past the metal door, but then thought about it and realized who it was.

Luke was continuing to relax when Aerin entered his range, coming to stand next to where he sat.

"So, I'm seeing you again? Strange, I've certainly been down here after our first conversation in the Evergarden without seeing you", Aerin said, her voice contemplative. "Maybe they work chronologically? Only appearing after we see each other a certain number of times", she questioned, pausing as if expecting Luke to give his input.

Luke was too tired to be worrying about visions, especially when they were clearly not something he could control.

"Maybe, hey what do you know about stages?", he asked.

"Stages? They're like ranks but more focused around your body, whereas ranks affect both your body and magic", Aerin said simply.

"Mm how do raise your stage?", he asked.

"No one knows, it just kind of raises on its own. Usually after you survive something especially deadly, soul points have no effect on it, same with your rank. You can be of the emperor rank and still have been at the lesser stage", she explained. "Though that almost never happens."

"What are the stages?", Luke asked.

"Lesser, common, uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary", Aerin said.

"Not beast?", Luke asked curiously.

"No, that's a stage reserved for monsters, they have a different set of stages", Aerin explained, then continued before Luke could ask.

"Beast, monster, horror, savage, nightmare, and elder", she said with a sigh, sitting down next to him.

"Mm, but I killed a beast that didn't have a stage", Luke said.

"That means the beast hadn't reached the first stage yet, most beings start off with a stage, but some don't", Aerin explained.

"Huh, so monsters don't have ranks, but they have stages?", Luke asked.

"No, well I've heard some of the strongest do but those are rare. If you ever meet one, I suggest you run away. Even father would struggle to kill one", Aerin said with a shake of her head.

"You talk about your father a lot, who is he?", Luke asked.

"He's the emperor of the Infernal empire, and the strongest known being in the infinite planes", Aerin said, sounding proud.

"Really? So, what's his name?", Luke asked.

"Herod Infernus", Aerin said.

Luke frowned at that, remembering how the voices from the blank world had called him the blood of Herod. They had also referred to the man as a monster, but if what Aerin said about demons was true, he supposed the made sense.

"Huh, is he a good man?", Luke asked feeling himself growing more curious.

"Of course, he protects the realm and makes sure all our people are happy", Aerin said.

Luke scoffed at that, causing Aerin to frown without looking at him.

"What?", she asked.

"Nothing, I'd just really like to see a form of government actually manage to keep all their people happy", he said.

"Why? Is your world not like that?", Aerin asked.

"No, my world has something called poor people. Me being one of them", Luke said with a shake of his head.

"Huh, you were poor?", Aerin asked.

"Still am, you don't see any money around here, do you?", Luke quipped.

"I don't at all", Aerin pointed out.

"You know what I mean", Luke said, wishing he could roll his eyes.

"I do, and I don't know if you could be considered poor anymore. I mean you live in a castle, and can eat all you want", Aerin pointed out, her smile returning.

"Oh yes, a great big castle with undead servants and knights to keep company. As well as endless berries that hold no taste and cause me great pain, what could be better", Luke said sarcastically.

"Well, you won't have to worry about the undead servants and knights. Once my father returns from his expedition, we'll start making arrangements to ensure nothing bad happens", Aerin explained.

"I thought you said you already told your father."

"I did, but he's away right now so there's not much he can do", Aerin said.

Luke was about to ask but gave up, he was tired of having so many questions.

"So… what are you going to do?", Aerin asked after a moment of silence fell between them.

"Sorry?", Luke said.

"Well, I get you're stuck in the castle and everything. But like how are you planning on getting out of it? You know I've lived in the castle all my life, so I can help", Aerin offered.

Luke thought about that for a moment and sighed, "maybe find something underground", he said halfheartedly.

Aerin nodded, "There are thousands of tunnels deep under the castle, they lead all over Gellan", she said. "Problem is, most of them are really old and hard to navigate."

"Good to know, then it either go through the tunnels or out the front door. And considering what lies outside the castle, I don't think I can do that", Luke said honestly.

Aerin thought about that and sighed, "Your luck is really rotten, you know", she said.

Luke snorted, "you're telling me. At least I got my second aspect", he said.

"Oh, what is it?", Aerin asked.

"Mana manipulation", Luke said, before explaining to her the ins and outs of the ability.

Aerin frowned, "strange, everyone with mana eventually has the ability to move their mana throughout their body. Though I suppose your affinity makes the process more efficient, plus it will be easier to hide, so no one suspects you of having two affinities", she said.

Luke thought for a moment, "what are your affinities?"

"One's called Mageborn, it essentially allows my body to heal very quickly depending on how much mana I have, and I can use it to heal others. The second is simply called cut, it allows me to use magic to cut things, and the third is from my father and it's called chosen flame. It allows me to manipulate and produce fire, though it's much weaker than fathers. Since I have a hellfire aspect though, its stronger than the average fire manipulation ability."

Luke listened to her answer and found himself frowning, compared to his abilities which essentially gave him super strong chains and the ability to make his body stronger and faster. Hers seemed far cooler, not only could she cut things, and wield flames but she was also capable of healing herself and others.

As he thought about it, Luke wondered how his abilities compared to those outside the castle, assuming there were people outside the castle.

"Your affinities are far cooler than mine", Luke stated.

Aerin shrugged, "I don't know, sometimes affinities seem weak at first, but its important to note that each ability grows stronger as you do. Who knows, one day your chains may be strong enough to crush mountains", she said cheerily.

"Crush mountains?", Luke said in surprise, "are there a lot of abilities that allow people to do that?", he asked.

"Well, not that in particular but if you're asking if there are people that can destroy mountains the answer is yes. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that there isn't a single emperor rank incapable of destroying a mountain", Aerin said.

That startled Luke, the idea of someone possessing the power to destroy a mountain would have been foolish in his world. Yet after just weeks of being in the infinite planes Luke had become somewhat superhuman himself. Even so, what Aerin was telling him was a whole different level of power, one he could scarcely comprehend.

'What would happen if an emperor wanted to destroy a city? Worse, what if two emperors fought in a city, normal people would find themselves helpless against such power", Luke thought darkly.

Aerin had already told him that the average person did not possess mana or abilities. Luke wondered what it was like to live powerless in a world filled with beings capable of annihilating you with ease.

'Is that what happened to the city? I had thought the crater was from a bomb, or some medieval magic equivalent, but what if a person caused the destruction', Luke questioned internally.

"Hey Lucian, you didn't have any magic on your world, right?", Aerin asked, stirring Luke from his thoughts.

"Not that I know of", Luke answered honestly.

"Huh, it must have been a boring place", Aerin said.

Luke shrugged, "not as boring as you'd think. There were still wars and stuff, and we had more advanced technology", he said.

"Interesting, maybe your lack of magic led to said technology", Aerin said, her tone curious.

"Maybe", Luke said, reaching up to feel the silky blindfold on his head. Suddenly letting out a yawn, he laid down on the grass and reached up to pillow his head on both his hands.

"You know the weirdest part about being blind, is not feeling my eyes close when I go to sleep", he noted aloud. "Or I guess not feeling my eyes at all."

"Does that bother you?", Aerin asked.

"Not really", Luke replied evenly, "it did at first, but its not like its uncomfortable or anything. It's just like they're gone."

Aerin frowned, "Do you miss seeing?", she asked.

"I do", Luke said honestly. "But it could be worse, being blind sucks but its not like my awareness hasn't improved. In fact, I'd say I can see better than I ever could before."

Aerin nodded in agreement, "yeah, but like you said its not the same", she sighed, "you know, just between us sometimes I wish I hadn't been born with these eyes."

Luke didn't know what to say to that, so he just said, "yeah."

"I mean, I understand that the Daranthian is a gift, and without it I wouldn't be considered of royal status. But sometimes I go out to the walls and look out at the nearby farms with my veil and see kids running and playing out there. I know I shouldn't be, but sometimes I'm jealous of those kids who get to see with their own eyes, and play as they wish", Aerin said wistfully.

Luke said nothing for a while, but hearing Aerin talk about her childhood made him think of his own. Despite the fact that she was rich, and that she'd obviously lived a far more privileged life than he had. He found he could relate to the loneliness in her voice, as he himself had gone through quite a lonely childhood. In fact, there were times when he was a kid where he used to stay up late imagining what it would be like to have friends.

"You know, when I was little", Luke started speaking without even meaning too. "I used to go to school so angry at the world, angry at the kids around me. Now that I look back at it, I guess I was just jealous, I mean, most of them had actual parents, siblings, friends. All I ever had was my uncle, and he wasn't much of family. I think that might have been why I didn't have a lot of friends growing up, that anger and jealousy", he said absently.

"You were lonely?", Aerin asked.

"Yeah."

"That's sad, did you ever get to have friends. You know, after you grew up?"

"No, not really. I was too busy for friends, and the few I did have had their own lives to deal with", Luke answered, suddenly feeling a bit of sadness as he spoke his words.

Aerin grunted, "I don't have a lot of friends either, I have the castle staff but their all afraid too afraid of offending me to be real friends. And father's always away, exploring or fighting something", she said in a sad tone.

"Well, at least we have each other now", Aerin said, in a clear attempt to make the air between them more cheerful.

Luke chuckled, "look at that, my first friend in this world and there's a chance she's a figment of my imagination", he said with evident humor.

"I'm real", Aerin said, her face scrunching in a motion that Luke took a second to realize was her furrowing her brows.

"Uh huh, that's exactly what a figment of my imagination would say", Luke stated evenly.

Aerin snorted, but there was a small smile on her face. "Well, real or not I'm gonna help you escape this place. And change the future while I'm at it", she said simply.

"If you change the future, then I wouldn't need to escape this place", Luke pointed out.

Aerin frowned at that, "huh, I guess your- ", her words faded away before she could finish her sentence.

Luke noted her absence with a sigh, and then let sleep overtake him.