Aya and Frey watched the fight coming to an end. They thought it was over since Damien became a whole new person, but that changed when he reverted back to his normal self. Aya was just amused by the change of character. To her, she was simply here to observe his character and evaluate his mettle. From what she saw, she was becoming more convinced that a part of him was just like her. The only problem was it was hidden deep within him and only came out in a desperate battle.
“Interesting, that little guy is. He gave up his advantage and is letting him recover his strength. I wonder what he plans to do next.”
While Aya was amused and awaiting the next move, Frey was visibly feeling the opposite. Frey was ready to explode in disappointment. She didn’t care who won since she was here to get over her boredom. That meant watching bloodshed in a gruesome fashion. She instantly retorted Aya in her anger.
“This isn’t interesting at all! It’s stupid! He should’ve torn him to shreds when he had the chance! Now there is no next move or plan, but to simply be torn apart without a fight. That kid really pumped my blood to just ruin it like this!”
Right as she finished ranting about the killjoy of a fight, Damien and Tenzin made their moves. Aya and Frey watched Tenzin head into the Dao Domain and instantly melt away. As his last ditch effort was made with just his head an explosion occurred that shredded whatever was left of Tenzin. Frey’s mood instantly changed as her face was filled with her psychotic smile. Her true side came out just a bit as she slightly moaned at the sight. Aya didn’t bother with her reaction and focused back on Damien. The boy was standing there unmoving due to his own actions. He did not plan on killing him nor did he think his upgraded technique would be this effective.
‘I killed him…? What is this feeling?’
Damien stood in the midst of the blast while his emotions took a turn for the worst. There was no mess nor gruesome details in sight as everything was vaporized to ash, however Damien took that internally. All the disgust of taking another life was on a new level than killing a beast. A nauseous feeling bloated up his system like a balloon and he vomited out everything in his system. There was nothing more that Damien could do except take this feeling in and let it out. Aya appeared by his side and with a swift strike to the back of his neck, knocked him out cold. She caught him in her arms and put him on her back. Aya waited for Frey to come down so she could say her goodbyes. Frey came down face to face with Aya with an interesting proposal.
“Say, there are only two of you traveling together right? You don’t think there’s space for one more, as in me? I’m pretty strong and I won’t do anything to harm him! All I hope for in exchange is a taste of his blood every once in a while, you know? Nothing big, just a drop! I can ask him for permission as well!”
Frey laid it all out to Aya as she tried to appear as friendly as she could. Aya tilted her head, acting like she was thinking about it. After a moment, she simply turned around and ignored her. Aya walked away with Damien in tow since there was no reason for them to be there. Frey was uncharacteristically quiet, but with closer inspection she was no longer breathing. Her body proceeded to fall apart in clean slices. Every slice was clean to the point that there was no blood spilt. As a matter of fact, it appeared that all of her blood was taken right from her body. Frey’s body was left to rot in the sun and be food for scavenger beasts.
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Aya continued to walk away as if nothing happened. It was as if she exerted no force to end Frey’s life. Her level of strength was on another level, no, another plane of existence. Damien would not be able to fathom just how strong she really was and for now he had a long way to go. The only reason Aya killed Frey even though she would never be a threat is because she wanted to make an example of her to the bandit captains watching from a distance. They had only retreated a distance away so they could be summoned back if needed, but when they saw how it played out it was a different story. None of them had a great loyalty to their leader. They were only with him due to his strength and the easy pay days that came along with it. Each captain figured it was now best to hide in the shadows and dissolve away this past.
Aya sensed they were all leaving their separate ways to never return here again. She walked into the back roads that cut across a large forest, heading directly to Faye. Aya walked through the night and continued for the entire time Damien was unconscious. The entire time Damien was passed out, he was reliving the last moments of Tenzin’s life. He was forced to watch it over and over again to the point where he could only cry. Damien was unable to let it go and made his psyche continually worse. No matter how much he begged or groveled, nothing changed. It was like his own mind and body was forcing him to watch it until he could accept it. Otherwise, he would continue to be unconscious and useless as a fighter since the trauma would make him go easy in fights.
In the real world Aya already made it to Faye, where she uncharacteristically stayed in an inn until Damien got up. She stood by his side for as long as he needed without a single complaint. After seeing him fight and catching a glimpse of what was in him, she felt confident in her choice that Damien was related to her species. There was nothing more important for her to find anything, even just an inkling of something related to her was enough. When you lived as long as she did by yourself, anything is better than nothing. Damien was the long shot that began to change her lonely feelings.
It took Damien two days to wake up from his trauma dream. Damien appeared to have gone to war and seen the atrocities that the world has to offer. His eyes were sunken and he had an aura about him that made him feel dark. It might’ve only been two days for Aya, but for Damien it was an infinite amount of time that he could not keep track of. He was forced to come to terms that he had taken the life of a higher life-form compared to a beast. It was only then that Damien was freed from his own imprisonment and allowed to come back to reality. Even though he was awake and accepted what he had done, it didn’t make him feel any better. He wanted to burst out crying but Aya was already by his side holding his hand. That little warm touch of comfort gave him the strength to hold himself together. Damien took a deep breath, before he started asking questions.
“Where are we now? What happened to everyone else?”
Aya just held his hand a little tighter and gave him a little lie to comfort him some more.
“We are in Faye now. Everyone else retreated after you beat Tenzin. We are closer to your destination as I am in my evaluation.”
Damien nodded silently as he pondered the next steps on this trip. Faye was supposed to be a pit stop before landing in Trua. From Trua he could head straight to Meteor Volcano and in fact he should be able to see it off the horizon. Damien recollected himself as he attempted to step off the bed. Aya backed up so he could rely on himself to stand up literally and metaphorically. Damien’s first step was wobbly followed by the second, but after those he stood up firmly. His childish aura had diminished deep into himself, and all that he was displaying now was a grim and cold attitude.
Damien had awoken himself to what life really is, cruel and unfair. Cruel because there are people like Tenzin in the world that take without caring. Unfair because if you did not have adequate strength or status you cannot live the way you wish to. You will be pushed into things that go against your morals but are left with no choice. Damien just experienced this first hand and he never felt more little in his life. Even though he was strong enough to hold his head up high, he could not compare himself to those at the peak or the legends in stories. Damien took a deep breath to allow this feeling to wash over his body so when he exhaled it expelled out of his system. Once that was done Damien headed outside followed by Aya so he could follow the next steps.
It was midday in Faye and the town was bustling with traffic and commerce. Unlike Lias, there was a happy atmosphere and the majority of the people here carried themselves with a smile on their face. Obviously the quality of life here was greater, but Damien didn’t care to enjoy this town’s vibe. Instead he headed straight for the exit.