The particles of mana that radiated around the two beings, tethered to one another's souls, slowly dissipated into the air.
Xerxes did not really know how to describe the feeling.
He took a sharp breath of air into his lungs, and everything felt slightly different. The world was not so 'black and white' anymore.
When he looked towards Aemon, Conrad, Aliya, and Leiya, he noticed things on their faces that he had never seen before. His eyesight had never been 'bad', per se; Xerxes had always prided himself on having a warrior's senses.
But as his eyes pierced them, he saw more intricate details: their pores and glands. He did not know if he was exactly in his right mind, but he heard a strange, rhythmic, and repetitive thudder, the same that pressed against your chest.
He could faintly hear heartbeats.
He raised his hands, the feeling of it very strange. It was as if his body was different, enhanced even. There was less resistance raising them. Over the past few months, his body had grown accustomed to being in a fatigued state, but that fatigue was now no more than a thing of the past.
Xerxes then chuckled, making everyone wonder what was so funny.
"What is it, Xerxes? You look crazy right now?" Leiya asked, wanting to know what he was laughing about.
Then, with amazement, he began explaining, "It is as if every bit of my body feels more developed. I am going to have to grow accustomed to these new senses, but in a way, I can slightly hear everyone's heartbeat when I focus on it. Your faces, too. I see things more clearly."
Leiya quickly patted her face, making sure that there were no pimples or grime upon it. The rest of the group started laughing, then Conrad asked a more direct question.
"Does anything else feel different with Airi? How is everything with her? And why is she staring at my old man so much?"
Xerxes turned to look at Airi, anticipating expressing more of their discovery. But as he turned to look at her, she was not focused on anything or anyone else besides Aemon.
She stared at him with an unnatural gaze, as if she was recalling something. She looked at the hatched markings that were under his eyes, as well as the azure eyes that seemed to hold an ocean of knowledge, secrets, and strength behind them.
"Airi?" Xerxes asked, trying to make her escape the trance she was in.
But she was focused; if there were any chances of her recollecting parts of her memory, then she would seize them. There was an unnatural drive within her to seek information so she could fulfil her mission, whatever it may be.
She wanted to know why she felt so inclined; she wanted to know what exactly had happened. So she let her mind dial in, ignoring any noise, and then she spoke a few words that made everyone reconsider what they knew about Aemon.
"Aemon Truth, from the runic pattern and the power you emitted… you inherited your powers from an actual god, did you not?"
Aemon's face went dark; so did Conrad's and Aliya's.
There was silence in the face of the confrontation about Aemon, making the air thicken to such a point that it felt insufferable to stand amongst them.
Xerxes and Leiya took a step back, with Airi's words replaying a rhythmic tune of 'alien', whilst Aemon stood there. The silence was sickening. Xerxes could not handle it anymore. He could not handle any of it.
"Is it true, Aemon? You inherited your powers from a god?" He asked, desperate for an answer.
Xerxes questioned why he felt such a harrowing feeling.
It was not the fact that he thought of 'gods' as punishing and cruel, but something different. It was the mystery that lingered from the past.
If what Airi suspected was true, then perhaps Aemon was one of the last people to understand what the Great War of Succession really meant. It was perhaps one of the most mysterious periods humanity was in, and if some light could be shed on it, the millennia of history before it could all be known.
Frustration settled into Xerxes' body. All this time, it made sense, did it not? From the subtle comments he made to Leiya about his time learning magic, and especially from the way he carried himself in battle.
There was something distinct about his method of combat. Xerxes was no expert by any means, but he understood that Aemon was unlike anything he had ever seen or even heard of before.
This was also in comparison to reports of the strongest mages of the continent, nonetheless. His fighting style had a level of prestige and uniqueness that could only have belonged not in this era, but in one more domineering.
'If I'm feeling like this, then what possibly is Leiya feeling?' Xerxes wondered as he turned towards her. When he finally saw her, it was evident she was morose and silent.
After a few seconds, Aemon flatly responded, "Yes. What Airi is saying is correct. I am not a man, nor am I a god. However, I am something in between those worlds. I am an apostle. I was one, anyway."
Those were exactly the words that Xerxes needed to hear, words that made Aemon more revered than he already was. Then it all clicked for Xerxes. He knew what the power was.
"Your power, Aemon, it is the power of 'Truth'. It is why your eyes turn different, how you know the truth instantly, and your name. Your name is inherited from this very god Airi spoke of?"
Leiya equally shared the same scepticism. Did she not even know about this? Was this all a secret? And if so, who knew? Her father and mother seemed not to share the same shock. Did Conrad know? Aliya?
Leiya's voice came out shaky but still demanding.
"Grandfather, I do not doubt you are telling the truth, and I want to say it does not make me see you any differently." She chuckled as she spoke, "In fact, you are even more badass. But why did you never tell me? Why have you, Father, and Mother kept it from me?"
Aemon sat down on the floor and looked up at the ceiling. Sighing as he spoke in a tiresome voice.
"I was afraid, afraid that you may see me differently. It's been so many years since I've kept it from you, and somewhere in my mind I thought it to be better that you didn't know."
Conrad shared a similar look of shame as Aliya and Conrad placed their hands on Leiya's shoulders, "We're sorry as well. I remember I didn't take a good reaction to knowing the news, so in part, your old man is to blame, Leiya. But if you truly want to know..."
Aliya leaned down and held her daughter's worrisome face, "We can allow him to explain, but only if you're ready."
Leiya didn't even hesitate. She was a boisterous child, full of spirit and adventure. Her view would never change, and her words confirmed that, making Aemon and the rest of the family proud of who she was.
"What does it even matter if Grandfather Aemon is some apostle, or was, whatever he said! It will never change the fact that you're my grandfather, you're my family. If I wanted to throw you away just because of some secret, I'd be no better than some fool. Nothing changes, nothing at all."
Aemon admired his granddaughter's words, although she didn't carry the same elegance in her choice of words as other people did; she definitely knew the right thing to say.
That was one relief for Xerxes, but what about himself? How would he react to the tale? He didn't really know, but he was eager to hear it nonetheless.
Aemon's voice piped up, "I will give you all answers: Leiya, Airi and Xerxes, but you should know, there is a specific condition that prevents me from speaking on certain contents of the war, that being almost 95% of it."
Confused by this statement, Xerxes questioned, "Why can you not? Is it your age causing you to forget?"
By his demeanour, Xerxes seemed quite serious, but Aemon could not help but chuckle at the fact that he wished Xerxes were correct about it being his age. Although it was not. It was something more potent and tormenting than time taking its course on one's mind.
"In The Great War of Succession, a particular god had subjugated most people to a curse. A curse placed on those from the war that binds us to the past without ever being able to escape it. Every day, I recall it, but the greatest punishment is knowing that there is nothing I can do to forget it."
A curse that did not allow the people of the war to speak about it?
This did not even sound remotely close to what ordinary magic could do. From what Xerxes knew, mana had four key fundamentals: the basic elements, then the augmentation elements, which Aemon had given him insight into; soul fragments, which were dropped from mana beasts and even humans; and finally, artifacts.
However, 'curses' were on a whole different scale of reality that he could have imagined, and Aemon was a bearer of the curse.
Aemon glanced at Airi. His thoughts were as obscure as they could be, but something felt strange.
He was convinced that she was unlike anything before. Her mana felt entirely different. Was this because of her status as an 'ancient beast', or was it something entirely different?
To even identify that Aemon inherited power from a god was one feat he never even knew was possible, and to do it with such ease, to the point he thought it was a relaxed level of ease, made him all the more unsure.
Regardless of the answer, Aemon could not pursue that path because Airi could not recollect her memories. Not only that, but now was not the time to interrogate her. The questions were all directed at him.
Leiya asked, "How did you meet or even inherit from this god?"
Aemon took a deep breath before he initiated the long story of what his life was like before everything.
"The original God of Truth was a member of a specific clan that has long since died, dubbed 'The Aurora'. In terms of explaining this, it will be vague due to the curse, but put simply, I was put under his wing."
"The acknowledgement of soul cores came about roughly two millennia ago, though it was only 770-790 years ago that humanity realised the capabilities it had, more than simply using mana for convenient use. How it came about is thanks to the time of Succession, random phenomena around the continent began occurring. An accelerated amount of learning and advancement in such a short amount of time."
Aemon spoke of it as if he were still living in the moment. It wasn't surprising. Aemon was directly there at the growth of mana amongst the nations.
"People began growing known within their respective nations, almost being figureheads and idols of what mana could do, at least across the grand human kingdom of what Xerxes would know as Indonyia and Layne. Yes, many years ago, they were one of the same."
Xerxes roughly knew that they were once connected, but political disputes between the king and his brother had deeply rooted a hatred between one another, some parts taking to the king's side, some taking to the brother's side, with each side of Layne and Indonyia being individual kingdoms as opposed to one giant one, sparking a cycle of animosity that's lasted for longer than 200 years.
"But of course, with a rise of power, there is also something that rises as well. There is no light without dark, and humanity's greatest strength can be what kills them. As a child, my brother and I, Yves, were fascinated by the world and by a particular grr-"
Aemon's body then convulsed, with blood seeping out of his mouth.
Leiya immediately went to his side, holding her grandfather, as he wiped his mouth, "I see I was getting a bit too in-depth..."
Xerxes witnessed it in horror. Suddenly, things became a lot clearer as to why Aemon chose not to share the story, not only for others' safety but for his own.
"Let us just say the group sparked our pursuit of power because of your great-grandmother and great-grandfather, Leiya."
"My mother and father didn't receive the light that power could bring; they unfortunately were both subject to the darkness of mankind's desires, and this was through the discovery of mana. You see, sometimes ignorance is better than understanding what you are capable of."
"Why I say this is because once someone understands how far they can go, they will want to go further, and this was true for humans. My parents were respected tradesmen, and sometimes people cannot control their greed."
"With mana around to facilitate that greed and turn it into a weapon, people sure did, and they were murdered for all their riches. This prompted my brother and me to grow stronger."
"Of course, the way to do that was through becoming strong, learning how to walk amongst the monsters, but with even more strength than they had, because the world was simply unfair."
"The world did not value other forms of merit. The world assumed your position based on how much blood you could draw from your enemy and how long your wits kept you alive. That was true for us in my time, at least."
"In that world, Yves was consumed by rage and wanted to change the world, and the only way of doing that was through becoming an apostle. This was something that had not been explored much, but it was a possibility."
"I, too, wanted to change the world, not out of anything stemming from revenge, but for a better tomorrow. I wanted some semblance of peace and balance, and over time, I grew stronger and closer to what I thought that foolish ideal was."
"Then I got what I wanted. I became an apostle. As a result, my master had bestowed his power upon me, and I became extremely stronger. At that moment, I was at least stronger than a Tier 1 mage by an insurmountable gap."
"However, my brother—my brother was not as powerful as I had become. And beyond that gap was him, still looking to his elder brother for guidance. Yet I was not looking back at him; I only looked forward."
"I chose to trade power and my ideals, not realising I had lost what had made me human, and that was family. The only family I had left…"
Aemon's face pinched with sadness; it was a story he shared so little because of the weight it had on his heart. "War stewed, and just a few months later, in the Great War of Succession, I had lost him."
"The war was something that forged who we really were and showed what we were. I suppose it showed me something significant about myself—and that is the truth that I am a coward."
It wasn't anything Leiya or Xerxes were expecting to hear.
"I ran away from the war. Those were the orders that the God of Truth had given me. Sometimes orders can be difficult to follow, but I wish, if I could go back in time, I would have stayed with him."
"I ran away from responsibility. I ran away from my goal, and for some reason, I was rewarded. I was rewarded with my master's eyes."
Aemon's eyes began glowing that sapphire hue; Xerxes was not sure he could get used to it, as the room itself seemed terrified and trembled in what resembled fear.
"I ran to the Fallen Kingdom, far away from danger, which is quite ironic, and used the power extensively to create this city, where I would go on to bring a few survivors. We forged this kingdom, and eventually, I married a woman some hundred years later. Then Conrad was born, and now you, Leiya."
"Being able to consume a very small amount of power from a god is the pinnacle of what anyone could do, but over time, it has become tenuous. This is because, Xerxes, there is order in this world, and that states that we could never step into their world."
Merely the thoughts of gods horrified Aemon.
"They lived in a world different to ours. They fought battles more powerful than ours, and they were so amazing that the humans of the time recognised them as their gods."
"So that is a simplified nutshell. The Aemon Truth of seven hundred years ago was a force to be reckoned with, but now I am paying my penance. This is because of the backlash of that power and of my cowardice."
Aemon then revealed the devastating news that would grow to pierce Leiya's very soul.