Like a lightbulb that was at the end of its lifespan, Aiden's ghostly visage flickered. The familiar golden glory that could be said to be one of his defining traits appeared every now and then even if for just a fleeting instant only before it died down and returned his outlook to that pale, semi-transparent dim gray outlook.

'This will not be enough..' Aiden gritted his teeth, remarking the sad truth inwardly. To maintain the connection as a way to return, the system had a constant cost of upkeep. Sadly, this made him to be almost completely drained by the time he arrived at this spot, leaving him with no choice but to give up for the time being.

Yet, Aiden was unwilling. After so much effort, going through such an ordeal, he found an opportunity, he could see the flickering remnant of a human soul trapped inside the other side of this wall, floating powerlessly just a bit above the cold cavern ground. Still, he was just too short, too weak, too drained to overcome this last hurdle and get the answers he was so greedily thirsting for.

Thus even though he knew he had far from enough power, he wasn't ready to give up and return. With gritted teeth that would be unseen due to the hazy visage he currently was, he began to gather the very last bits of his remaining energy.

The golden light continued its flickering, first the boy's entire body was bathed with the grand glory, but as time passed, a flow became visible. The tip of his right arm, where his hand should be became the center of this sea. Hungry for energy, it was like a whirlpool, sucking in all the substance it could take on. The golden shine soon dimmed, converging towards this new central point, Aiden's right fist.

Yet, this was far from enough. The whirlpool, or more so Aiden, continued its gathering even as the golden light was almost completely sucked away. As the ghastly shine of Aiden's soul began to flicker, the so far, silent ball of light, Enya stepped out and rushed in front of the boy. With a worried, concerned and agitated tone she hurriedly called out.

'[Stop! What are you doing, Aiden!]' She exclaimed, adding a bit of anger and irritation as she spoke her next words. '[Are you really this stupid, this immature? You are willing to consume your very life force for something that you could achieve after some rest? Is this how you fulfill your father's and most importantly m-.. your mother's sacrifice?!]' She stumbled, almost spilling something she shouldn't have. Luckily she managed to fix her speech before the system's retribution came to reinforce the set rules.

Suddenly, Aiden's body trembled as his guide's words reached him. Almost instantly all the gathered and accumulated energy in his brightly glowing golden, semi-transparent fist vanished, dissipated, gradually returning to their original states. historical

All the previous draconic pride that contaminated his thoughts was gone. The thought of his mother and his father brought back the much-needed clarity that seemed to be slipped by Aiden as he was overcome with the day's events and succumbed to the mindset of his most powerful, most dominant inherited form.

His floating figure stumbled as it took several steps back. He was speechless as his body kept shivering. As the realization of what he had almost done have seeped into his mind, he felt a surge of emotions tormenting him. Shame, Regret, Sadness.. Sorrow..

He gazed at the cave for several minutes in deep silence as his thoughts returned to the visions, memories he gained through the first trial.

Eventually, he sighed and muttered a question, though his sight didn't leave the ball of light at the other side of the barrier.

'Can we really return to this place without wasting too much of my energy?'

'[Yes. You just need to focus on this exact spot when the next time you will activate the Gate and you will appear in this spot.]' Enya's response came almost instantly, her tone was much warmer than just a short while ago. Though inside she was still agitated and worried about the state of Aiden. This exaggerated reaction shouldn't have happened.

It seems that the constant struggles, the emotional stress he was under have started to break the mental walls he had. It seems that in order not to succumb to the constant duress, he will need to speed up the pace of his training.

'I see. Okay, then, let's go.' Aiden nodded as he listened to his guide's confirmation. His tone was cold as he spoke.

Without waiting for anything else, his silhouette suddenly vanished from its spot. Using the connection he had retained through the help of the system, he instantly left this sub-world, returning his tired and weary soul into his body.

With him, the ball of light of Enya also left the spot, submerging back into the Aiden Soul Space.

As her figure appeared once again, she could only shake herself with mixed, complicated emotions swelling inside her. She knew that what was needed to be done.. She could feel IT's presence, even if it was faint as soon as they entered this realm.

Yet, she wasn't sure if it was the right choice, or if Aiden would be willing to do what was needed..

She could only sigh, hoping that everything would ultimately be fine..

—

His consciousness, his soul returning to his empty husk in the same abrupt and violent manner just like as it was tugged away, Aiden's eyes suddenly snapped open. His lips parted as he greedily gasped for air to fill his empty lungs.

Loud, fervent coughs followed his large gulps, he felt as if he just emerged from being forced to stay underwater for an extended period of time.

He felt weak, the first time in his life, he felt as if he was helpless, just a fragile creature, an insignificant speckle of sand in the vast and endless universe. He couldn't utilize any of his powers, his energy was almost completely drained.. What he needed was a long and comforting rest before anything else.

As he glanced over his system's interface to check his surroundings on the map, he couldn't help but frown with displeasure. He could clearly see the five red, hostile dots on the map as they slowly, but surely closed in and got closer and closer to his current position.

It seemed that although they didn't know where to find him yet, it was only a matter of time and with his current state, he would be powerless to resist them..

The drowsiness he felt didn't help his case either, feeling so drained, he couldn't even force himself to think about his next course of action, but only watch helplessly as the red dots slowly got closer and closer to his position..

---

AN: Hey there Readers!

Just a friendly reminder, that from wherever you are reading , you can reach out to me using any of the below methods!

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/shaele