Chapter 43 – After the Failure

Aiden awoke while feeling a soft sensation in the back of his head.

For a moment, he was unable to remember about what happened.

With a foggy mind, he tried opening his eyes only to feel a painful headache.

Frowning due the pain, he looked up to get an idea of his surroundings.

The first thing that entered in his sight was Lia’s worried face.

Then, everything became clear.

Aiden immediately remembered about the ritual, the soul of the sabretooth tiger, the struggle in his mind and the soothing sensation he felt in the end.

And he also remembered that at the end, the ritual failed.

A wave of despair immediately assaulted Aiden. He even felt his respiration stopping.

A self-deprecating smile appeared in his face while he shook his head and looked towards Lia.

With an almost crying expression, he spoke in a voice low enough that Lia almost not heard it.

“… I failed.”

A wave of silence expanded in the surroundings. Lia tried to speak, but at the end, the right words didn’t appear in her mind.

What could she say? Words of consolation? That everything would be alright?

Though Lia was unable of reading Aiden’s thoughts, she knew that such words probably only would hurt him more.

After all, she was clearer than anyone about the importance that Aiden attached to this ritual.

For him, this ritual was the ray of hope illuminating his future. The possibility of going beyond the fate that was imposed to him the day when his spirit was robbed.

But at the end, all failed.

Aiden didn’t spoke for a long time. His face, tired from the happenings during the ritual, turned completely depressed, at the point where the only thing stopping him from crying was the tiny bit of pride remaining inside him.

But even it was just one step on disappearing now.

Though it wasn’t the first time that Aiden failed, this could be considered his biggest failure. For Aiden, seeing his greatest hope disappear in smoke was a bigger blow than anyone could imagine.

A few minutes passed like it, then, Aiden began to laugh.

His laugh was filled of despair, like the expression of someone seeing the end of the world. Lia even felt that the laugh seemed broken, allowing to the listeners to hear the desperation of the owner.

It worried Lia very much, not expecting such extreme reaction from Aiden. For her, this could be considered the time when she saw his most unsightly form.

Even when they met for the first time, his expression wasn’t so despairing.

Because that time, she could see a sliver of unwillingness below all the desperation.

For a time, only the sound of Aiden unsightly laugh resounded in the room.

When Lia finally intended interrupt, he finally coughed, stopping.

Then, with a voice almost broken by tears, he spoke.

“Do you know what is the funniest thing? I didn’t even notice where the problem is…”

“Young master…”

“What a joke! I said you that I would create a spirit today, but at the end, I didn’t even know what exactly happened!

“Tell me Lia! How am I supposed to create a spirit when I don’t even know where begin to correct the mistakes?!

“Tell me!”

“…”

Facing the outburst of Aiden, Lia could only remain silent.

Though she could imagine how he was feeling, she had no idea about what to say or to do so he could feel better.

At the end, she simply bitted her lips.

Aiden, for his part, shook his head seeing it. He didn’t how to feel currently.

Enraged? With whom? Lia? He was sure that she helped him with her utmost. Himself? He didn’t even give up when the beast was gnawing his soul.

Then, who is the culprit of his failure? Fate? The beast? Aiden didn’t even know against whom direct the rage.

In this moment, he was like a boiling pot full of countless negative emotions, unable of vent.

At the end, he simply opted for remaining silent while resting in Lia legs.

For a time, none of them spoke.

The atmosphere grew more and more depressing with every second. Lia tried more than once to begin a conversation, but at the end, the words were unable to leave her mouth.

Meanwhile, Aiden simply tried restraining his emotions.

After almost one hour, He finally spoke.

“How long I sleep?” Asked.

“Almost two hours.” Answered Lia, relieved due finally finding something to speak.

Aiden thought for a moment after hearing Lia answer. He noticed that his headache decreased, but he found it strange given the terrible wounds in his soul and the short time he spent sleeping.

So, he asked.

“What happened?”

“It was the amulet.” Said Lia. “The one we got with the sealed stone.”

Lia proceeded to explain everything that happened; beginning from the moment when the beast soul tried gaining control over Aiden.

Hearing about how she was unable of breaking through the force field generated around the array, and about the strange behavior of the amulet, Aiden looked towards the mark that appeared in his body and sighed again.

At the end, he had not the slightest idea about most of the thing that happened today.

To be sincere, instead becoming happy, Aiden became even more depressed after knowing about the actions of the amulet.

After all, he understood that if not for it, he definitively would have died during the ritual.

Was he so arrogant that if not because of an uncontrolled variable he would have perished?

Were his efforts so useless that at the end they were unable to compare with a simple coincidence?

If it was so, then, what reason was there to continue trying?

With his thoughts in a mess, he felt a hand caressing his hair.

Aiden turned his gaze up and saw Lia looking towards him with a worried expression.

“Young master, don’t worry. I’m sure things will go well.”

Hearing her words, Aiden could not help but laugh sarcastically even knowing that she was speaking sincerely.

Her words only increased the pain he was feeling now.

Standing up from the thigs of Lia, he walked towards outside while grabbing a shirt that he found in the path.

“I’m going to take a bit of fresh air.”

“Young master…”

“Don’t worry.” Sighed him. “I only need a bit of time alone.”

He knew that she was worried, but he didn’t want to hear comforting words from her now.

He only wanted a bit of space to clear his thoughts.

Lia bitted her lips hearing his answer, but at the end, she didn’t say anything more.

Looking towards her, Aiden smiled apologetically. Then, opening the door, he left the house.

Aiden could never have known that his actions tonight would be the cause of many events.

After all, he didn’t know about the red tint appearing in Lia eyes, influenced by hers and Aiden current negative emotions.

Neither he knew about the many eyes watching his house from early that day.

And much less he knew that an encounter tonight, would change his fate forever.

At the end, he wasn’t able of predicting fate.