POV: Aria Akari
As Arthur and Rai approached us, my eyes remained solely on Rai, whose clothes were tattered as his body was marred with a variety of injuries, although my concern wasn't of his condition, but the overwhelming power he displayed.
What did I just witness?
I have the blood of Jiyu's strongest hero running through my veins and yet, I can't even begin to fathom the difference between our power.
Growing up, I made sure to stick to a proper training regiment as well as focus on the fundamentals first as learning any advanced technique would be pointless if I was unable to properly utilize the basics.
Training with my combat instructor along with a few sparring sessions with my grandfather, I assumed that I was on the right path in order to achieve my dream, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Rai is no older than I am and yet, I can't even begin to imagine surpassing him.
How much did he have to sacrifice in order to gain that kind of power?
"Is everyone alright?" Rai asked with concern as we all nodded with the exception of Sarah, who despite being silent ever since regaining consciousness, finally voiced her first utterance as she clicked her tongue in frustration and stormed towards Rai.
"No, we're not alright. I don't understand. I don't understand it at all! Why did you lie to us about your Aspect?! If you were this strong, why didn't you use your Aspect from the start?!" Sarah questioned, incensed from Rai's silence as she grasped the collar of Rai's ragged jacket.
"Did you enjoy watching us get beaten into oblivion?! Was perhaps struggling for our lives amusing to you?! You just sat there, pretending to be oblivious when you knew very well that you could have ended all of this and yet, you chose to watch us-"
"That's enough, Sarah." Arthur interrupted softly as he placed his hand on her wrist, but his calmness further enraged Sarah, urging her to swipe his hand away from her as tears began to well within her eyes.
"Arthur, we almost died because of him! How can you sit there and take his side when all of us almost died because of his reluctance to use his Aspect!" Sarah rebuked with tears flowing down her face as she grasped Rai's collar with both of her hands.
Sarah…
"I was terrified. Unlike everyone else here, I don't have the courage or the power to stand up against monsters such as the ones we faced today nor do I have the proper judgement to decide the right course of action in the face of a life or death situation, which is why I just want to know why…"
"Why did you just sit there and watch those villains terrorize us-"
"I'm sorry. There's a reason why I chose not to use my Aspect to begin with, but you deserve every right to be angry towards me and as you said, I should have prioritized your safety first. I won't ask you for forgiveness, but I do hope you can accept my apology." Rai said with sincerity, his eyes filled with regret as he bowed his head towards Sarah, whose expression was laced with a sense of culpability as she averted her eyes away from him, wiping her tears away.
"It's alright, Rai as if it wasn't for you, we would have all died today, so thank you for saving us." I expressed with an appreciative smile as Rai raised his head.
"Although, you're quite a rare case, Rai. Not only do you have a Transcendent Elemental-Type Aspect, but your lightning is even blue. Is there anything else you're hiding from us?" Arthur teased with a curious grin as Everett waited for Rai's answer like a child expecting a present from their parents.
"No, there's nothing else that I'm hiding." Rai answered with a soft sigh as the three of them sparked a small conversation between one another while my gaze fell upon Pride, who seemed to be observing us from afar instead of staring as he healed Wrath's injuries in the midst.
I feel uneasy.
"Rai, what are we going to do about them?" I asked with concern as everyone turned to face the general direction of the Cardinal Sins, whose bodies were scattered throughout the area with a few of them being on the brink of death.
"We have no choice but to leave. We don't have any anti-aspector chains to bind them, so we should all escape before any of them wakes up as neither of us has the energy to fight." Rai replied as I nodded in agreement.
"Well, I could probably go another round if any of them tried to seek revenge." Arthur commented jokingly with a grin as he turned to face Pride's general direction, but a frown soon replaced his grin as he noticed everyone staring blankly at him.
"I was only joking-"
"Not the right time, Arthur." I admonished.
"I see." Arthur replied, averting his eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Within the minute, we decided to take an alternative path to exit the forest as we didn't want to take our chances of running into anymore enemies, prompting us to head towards the descent of the mountainous area we currently resided in, but before descending down the slope, there was a feeling of uneasiness persisting within me as I glanced towards Pride, who was focused on healing his comrades instead of Wrath as he noticed my gaze, but I eventually discarded my suspicion as I was exhausted today, beginning a conversation with Everett as I listened intently on his admiration for Rai.
"Aria, do you believe Rai can change the current state of the academy?" Everett asked genuinely after the five of us descended down the hill as I recalled the Headmaster's words.
"I won't go into detail, but if you're able to change him for the better, then your goal won't just remain as a mere dream anymore as I'm certain it will become a reality."
I think I'm beginning to understand why the Headmaster had so much faith in him.
"With his power, it's certainly possible." I replied with a smile as Everett stared into the palm of his hand before clenching it with a determined smile amidst us arriving towards a seemingly shallow river, which stretched through the Exterel Mountains.
"From this day forward, I'm going to become stronger. Strong enough to protect those around me and so that one day, if Rai ever needs me, I'll be there for him just as he was there for me. I at least owe him that for saving my life today." Everett declared as we followed Arthur and Sarah, who checked the temperature of the river before crossing through it as Rai trailed behind us, guarding our group from a distance.
"I'll be looking forward to your progression." I expressed that upon crossing through the cold, shallow river, it brought forth the memory of experiencing Rai's Aspectual Force for the first time, which was unusually cold, despite his heroic nature.
I wonder what kind of experience Rai had to go through for his Aspectual Force to become so cold.
Most heroes have a fairly warm Aspectual Force with the small exception of having a rather colder one due to their intense nature, but Rai's Aspectual Force is outright cold, absurdly cold to the extent that I would believe he was a villain, whose heart should be consumed with malice and yet, Rai is nothing like a villain at all.
Could the nature of his Aspectual Force have something to do with his stance on heroes?
My dream of becoming a hero is all because I was inspired by my grandfather from a young age as he is someone who is strong and kind with a zealous desire to save everyone, despite the consequences.
If I'm being honest, Rai's actions today reminded me of my grandfather along with his opinion on the innocent and yet, the way he described heroes seemed as if he truly loathed them.
His eyes may have wielded hatred during his dispute with Arthur, but behind them, there was a foreign sadness that I was unable to decipher-
Abrupting my thoughts was a harsh, loud cough from behind, prompting everyone to turn around as it was from none other than Rai, who dropped onto a knee and spewed out an excessive amount of blood, urging him to clutch his chest tightly with an alarmed expression until he collapsed face-first onto the boulder-strewn terrain that encased the river, losing consciousness in the midst as I was overwhelmed with anxiety from the sight of him bathing in a puddle of his own blood until I came to my senses and rushed towards him frantically.
"Rai!" I cried out, activating my Aspect as I flipped his body over with the intention of healing him, but to my horror, my Aspect naturally deactivated, bringing forth a sharp pain that felt like a needle stabbing through my heart as I began suffering from experiencing the consequences of reaching my Exhaust Limit.
No…
This can't be happening right now!