Chapter 64

The next few hours I spent scouring through newspapers and articles published within the last few days, hoping that one of them would cover the recent incident with the black hole over at Madame Fitzgerald's house.

And considering how many people actually attended the event, it was safe to say that someone would've recalled it and rushed over to the press. But upon flipping and scanning the various articles, the only thing of relevance was Madame Fitzgerald's purchase of a large diamond that came from the Adligon Clans and their mining operations.

"Is Isaac in here?"

I heard a familiar focus call from behind the white thick curtain protecting me from the outside world. The voice was gruff but calm, and I could instantly read that it was Aizawa's.

"I am. Feel free to come in, I guess."

Aizawa then opened the curtain and stepped into the booth sitting in the chair next to my bed and shooting me a concerned and worried look.

"How are you feeling, kid?"

He asked. I put down my newspapers and put them into the drawers beside my bed before turning back to him and letting out a heavy and annoyed sigh.

"I feel strangely weird, I feel like I've died and come back to life."

A small smile tugged the corners of Aozawa's lips before he laughed a little, before returning his gaze back to me.

"It's because you did."

I felt my heart drop to my feet, I've already died once, is this another afterlife or something, or was that conversation with Crodio a dream?

"I died?"

I managed to stutter out. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, and the environment around me began to spin.

"But luckily you recovered quickly, it's strange."

Aizawa's reaction was similar to the nurses when it came to pure shock out of my new condition. But the nurse said it was a stab wound, and that I had to recover now.

"How did I die?"

I asked that question even if I already knew what the answer would be. Aizawa huffed before speaking in a solemn tone.

"That brat Raymond stabbed you, don't you remember what went down at Madame Fitzgerald's place a few nights ago?"

My eyes widened, Raymond of all people stabbed me? Does that mean that Aaron's got off Scot free and Madame Fitzgerald hasn't been arrested?

"Why did he stab me?"

I asked. Aizawa stared down at the floor for a few moments, as if he had trouble recalling the event too.

"I don't remember, but I think I heard him say something before he ran onto the balcony and thrusted the knife into your abdomen."

I leaned in closer, my gaze dead fixed on Aizawa.

"So you remember what he said exactly?"

Aizawa nodded, before he lowered his voice to the point of a whisper.

"For the lord's touch shall grace me, I repent of my wrongdoings."

Upon hearing that I leaned back and blinked a few times, confused on why Raymond would say such a holy and heartfelt prayer before stabbing me to death.

"I've dug into that and research shows that it's a prayer that one says to the god that they worship before committing a wrongdoing, a hopeful response of forgiveness."

I took this into my mint and began to process it, before shortly coming to a conclusion.

"Could he have possibly done a ritual, a way of achieving more power?"

Aizawa leaned back in his chair as well and fell silent, as if he too was thinking of a viable conclusion. His red eyes then fell upon mine as he spoke up again.

"It's a possibility, but before you get your ass in a twist, I recommend you get some more rest."

Aizawa stood up and left the tent, but I stopped him before he could truly leave.

"Wait,what about Aaron and Oboro?"

Aizawa looked back at me, his face now dawning a confused expression.

"They're both safe, I promise you."

He then turned back and closed the curtain of my booth, before I heard the sound of his boots descending down the hallway, and out of the medical facility.

I was left alone with my thoughts and complications, but I decided not to think about any of it. Shortly after I heard another pair of footsteps approach my tent, before they spoke up.

"Isaac, you in here?"

The voice made my heart twist up like a knot, the voice belonged to Aaron.

"I-I am."

I sputtered out, attempting to hide the evident fear in my voice. Shortly after Aaron opened the tent and stepped in, standing over my bed with a smile that had a mixture of relief and concern on it.

"Yes, I'm alive. Don't think I forgot about the situation with you, Oboro and Isaiah."

Suddenly Aaron's expression changed, and a surprised face grew over his other features.

"What situation could you possibly be talking about, kid?"

I narrowed my eyes and rolled over to look at him, before speaking in a somewhat angry voice, while attempting not to yell in rage.

"That Oboro was just a pawn, that you and Isaiah have other motives, and you shot me at the banquet!"

Aaron tilted his head slightly and laughed like an idiot, but behind that sudden cheerful expression, those pair of eyes said otherwise.

"You're right, actually. But I don't remember shooting you anywhere. Why would I even do that to begin with? Are the drugs the nurses giving you a little too strong and working with your head or something?"

He laughed again, sitting down at the table before grabbing the newspapers from my drawer.

"How the hell did you know that to begin with?"

He looked up from the newspaper and furrowed his brows in an intimidating manner. I looked into his eyes and said with a semi confident smile.

"I…don't know."

Aaron would probably call me crazy if I pulled that information out of nowhere, but how would I explain my encounter with that figure and my conversion with Crodio in the throne room?

"Heh, knew it."

He flipped open the newspaper loudly, fishing through the catalogs as if nothing had ever happened.

Aaron right now was acting not like his usual self, but a dark and grim thought instantly clouded my mind.

"What if he was corrupted by the deity in the cosmos that took a liking to him? But why would it want him to begin with?"

"Aaron, are you ok?"

Aaron looked up from his newspaper with a confused expression, except it didn't have any confusion focused on my question, but rather the entire scenario in general.

"I-Isaac, what the hell…"

He dropped his newspaper in shock and backed away, looking like he just saw a demon from his worst nightmares.

"What's wrong?"

I asked, looking at him with a worried expression.

"How are you back, you got swallowed by that black hole!"

Suddenly it hit me like a load of bricks. What if that figure in the afterlife influenced the regular world? Crodio said that angels that have perished can do things such, but the figure in the void looked nothing like an angel, they didn't even look human.

"W-what?"

In this sudden confusion I also felt some relief. At Least Aaron wasn't corrupted by the deity in the cosmos, but more like giving symptoms of having his memories altered by an outside force which I concluded to be the figure in the afterlife.

"Then why was Aizawa acting like nothing ever happened?"

Aaron's expression then faltered and became confused, the wrinkles on his face became more prominent as he gritted his teeth.

"I don't know, perhaps he was under the same foreign influence, but who wiped our memories to begin with?"

I suddenly fell silent, unable to answer Aaron's question. I then looked behind my tent as if looking at something out the window.

"I believe so."

I didn't want to tell him after my encounter with that figure in the afterlife, as that would probably arouse some concern and suspicion. And due to the figure giving me the Order 8 potion for the Apocalypse Routeway, there was no further need for Aaron to test my blood any longer. But if I suddenly told him this information, he would probably laugh it off.

"Why haven't you tried to kill me again?"

I then asked Aaron, who looked back to me with wide eyes and a concerned look.

"I-I'm sorry for how irrationally I acted at the banquet, I was just so overwhelmed by the current situation, Oboro was in my face and I just…lost control."

"Of your emotions, or of your powers?"

After asking that, Aaron's expression faltered, as he sat back down in his chair as if he suddenly lost his balance. A little sweat started to trickle down his face as he looked up at me with terrified eyes.

"The deities' influence is becoming stronger, and I'm unsure if I can hold it back much longer."