Arthur's Point of View

Helmsforth Temple

After I got directions to Ayda’s room in the Temple, my feet carried me there almost independently. I was distracted, looking at all the destruction that had occurred. The Temple had seen better. It’d been through a lot in the last few weeks. More than I realized as most of it seemed in ruins than to be standing.

However, my senses came back to me quickly when Floyd suddenly before me. The thin-framed young man glared at me darkly. Dark rings lined his eyes as there was almost a chilliness about him. His brown eyes held me in such cold regard that it surprised me that he could muster such a gaze.

“Floyd Galis.” I greeted evenly.

“Arthur Pendragon.” He responded while his eyes focused solely on mine.

A frown came to my lips as I looked down at him. “Is there something I can help you with?”

His arms at his side twitched off and on, as did his fingers. There was a madness in him that almost seemed familiar to me. Floyd looked prepared and wanted to fight. Every little twitch, his body leaning forward, and even how his eyes followed me. All of it was odd.

Floyd spoke through his teeth. “Why didn’t you save them?” He asked me. “Aren’t you here to protect them?”

“Am I to assume you mean Aien and Augustus?”

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“…” I received no reply.

“They died because I relied on your teachers to be able to protect themselves and those with them.” I told him. “While I dealt with Graham, I had hoped they would be able to fend off the other Demon.”

Moving forward, Floyd stepped up to his tippy toes as he got in my face. “You’re a liar.” He seethed. “You could’ve handled both of them if you wanted to.” His voice was low. “After all, you took care of the two Demons on your own in the end anyway.”

Glaring back at him, I tried to stay reasonable. “Remember who you’re talking to, Floyd.” I glowered back.

To my surprise, he continued to challenge me. “Make me.”

My eye twitched before I opened a portal between us and walked through it, only to reappear directly behind him. Power move. What I wasn’t expecting was the sudden surge of magical power coming from behind me. Drawing Defiance from my back as I felt a powerful murderous aura from where Floyd was, I turned with my sword extended.

Floyd was still standing there when I turned back around, but now with his back facing me. Tilting my head while studying his form, the brown-haired man didn’t even move except for his breathing. It wasn’t until I heard him exhale that his shoulders deflated, his magical signature disappeared, and the murderous aura faded. However, I still focused on him, and it almost seemed like his magical aura was lighter for a moment.

Floyd turned around and ignored my sword pointed at him as he smiled. “Sorry about that!” He continued in his usual cheery tone. “It’s been a long couple of weeks, and I couldn’t find you for quite some time, so it really irritated me!” Then he gestured to me. “Surely you of all people can understand.”

Putting Defiance away, I turned away from him and moved through the Temple renovations. Part of me was now extremely wary of Floyd. For a Human, his magical signature should be impossible to feel. Not to mention the fact he almost felt like a threat.

“Arthur!” He called out, and I stopped before looking over my shoulder to see him grinning at me, but no longer did the smile reach his eyes. “Please do be careful when dealing with Ayda.” A warning if I’d ever heard one. “She’s very important to me.”

I didn’t reply, but mostly because I wasn’t given the choice. Floyd turned around and left through a hole in the wall. A few of the workers were startled when he popped out as he disappeared from my view. They quickly looked inside before getting back to work while my eyes narrowed slightly.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I thought it would be best to deal with one thing at a time. So, I continued my trek to Ayda’s. I wasn’t far from the room, and part of me wondered if Floyd put two and two together. Another part of me worried that he had no reason to believe I would be coming to visit her specifically.

Ignoring that for the moment, I knocked on the door in front of me that had two guards stationed outside it. The door was already slightly cracked. Enough where they could check inside periodically if needed.

“Ayda,” I called out. “It’s Arthur. I was hoping to talk to you about something.”