Chapter 55 – Fear the Night, Unsheathe the Saber, Thread the Fate (IX)

A saber.

It was the weapon that Aiden selected the first time he was rewarded for the clan.

To be sincere, Aiden wasn’t even sure why he made such choice.

After all, he had only trained in swords before then. And when he learned that he was going to be rewarded with a weapon from the armory of the clan, he had decided to choose the most beautiful and strong looking sword in existence.

And it was normal. After all, his talent with the sword was considered pretty good.

But when he entered the armory, the first thing that entered his sight wasn’t the beautiful swords, the luxurious spears or the glistening sets of armor.

Instead, it was a dust-filled saber lying aside in a corner of the armory.

Back then, Aiden could have sworn that he heard the saber calling to him.

And for some reason, he chose to pick up it without any hesitation.

You could imagine the looks of the clan elders after they learned that he chose a weapon he had never used.

Some of them even said that it was better to make him choose another weapon than leave him to lose his time learning a weapon from the beginning.

But at the end, they decided to allow it. For them, it could also to be considered a kind of “experience”, and in the future, the kid would learn to not be so willful.

However, Aiden’s talent in the saber ended shocking the entire clan.

In only a week, Aiden mastered the clan’s basic saber movements.

In three months, he was so proficient with the saber as he was with the sword.

In a year, he was considered for everybody like a saber genius.

Many people even thought that it was a shame that he didn’t have a saber spirit.

But nothing of it mattered to Aiden.

For Aiden, the saber became part of his life.

Every day, he practiced with the saber. Every night, he slept with the saber.

It reached the point where his mother had to scold him when he tried to take a bath together with the saber.

And his efforts were not unrewarded.

After three years of practicing, Aiden comprehended saber intent.

Back then, the entire Noah family thought that Aiden’s talent with the saber, combined with his exceptional spirit, would be enough to bring the clan to glory.

But unfortunately, misfortune struck the clan.

Aiden father, the chief of the Noah clan, had to choose between sacrificing Aiden or going to war against a very powerful family.

And in the end, he chose the clan.

The pain that Aiden felt back then was immense. Knowing that your most beloved ones betrayed you because of the clan’s interests, was a huge blow to the still naïve mentality of Aiden.

But even with it, Aiden didn’t abandon the saber.

Day after day, night after night, Aiden continued swinging his saber, venting his frustrations with the cold sensation of the saber’s hilt.

During four years, there wasn’t a day when Aiden didn’t brandish his saber. And the saber intent, as if responding to his feelings, became sharper and stronger with every passing day.

Maybe from long ago, the connection between Aiden and his saber was already inseparable.

Perhaps it was the reason because the saber answered Aiden’s call.

The powerful saber intent, inhabiting Aiden’s body, began to condense quickly, becoming purer and stronger, and changing from his most intrinsic form.

A saber hum spread through the town, and the sound of a blade, searching for his master, answered.

And when the black saber appeared before Aiden and he grabbed it, something finally transformed.

Aiden’s saber intent completely disappeared and something even stronger appeared.

It was like a fragile film enveloping the saber’s blade. But different from his appearance, it emitted a powerful sharpness able to overwhelm all the people in the surroundings.

Many of the powerhouses in the town, that had ignored the commotion happening, were able to feel it.

And even them were unable to hide the surprise in their faces.

Saber manifestation!!!

But when they tried to expand their senses to locate the place where the saber manifestation was originated, a powerful sense knocked them back, preventing their senses from learning something.

Immediately, an expression of fright appeared in their faces.

“““““We apologize, city lord.”””””

And with it, they all ceased their proving.

But though it was impossible for them to learn about the responsible of the saber manifestation, it was different for the people near Aiden.

Both the man in black and the sword wielding youth could not help but put frightened expressions.

And even Lia, whose senses were lost in a sea of furious red, paused slightly.

“Impossible!” Cried the knife wielding man.

However, Aiden was unable to hear it.

When his hands touched the saber, Aiden felt the world become clearer.

The pain, sadness, desperation and rage he had felt disappeared immediately.

In his mind, only the saber and the image of the sword stabbing Lia remained.

The energy in his body, which was almost depleted, moved excitedly while more energy rushed towards him from the surroundings.

And the saber in his hand hummed delightfully.

Aiden looked towards the man that had attacked him.

Different from before, his face was filled with a calm guilt. And in his eyes, an immense rage was flowing without control.

Softly Aiden raised his saber.

Then, while waving his hand downwards, he muttered only a word softly.

“… Die.”

Immediately, all the energy in his body flowed towards the saber in his hand.

The meridians in his body, that normally would had been unable to endure the huge influx of energy, made use from Aiden’s saber manifestation to send even more energy to the saber.

Strangely, though his cultivation didn’t advance, Aiden was able to transmit energy to his saber, an object, seamlessly.

For some reason, he knew that the saber would not reject his energy. He knew that he was able to do something that any other late core-forming practitioner was able to do.

Then, the simplest saber move was displayed for him.

The saber, in a downward motion, cut towards the black-dressed man in front Aiden.

Completely frightened, the man tried to move his knife to block the attack, and the energy in his body moved to search for an opportunity to escape.

But the opportunity never appeared.

The fragile glow of saber manifestation in the saber edge touched the knife.

… And it was cut in two.

Together with the man behind it.

With an expression of incredulity, the man tried to speak.

However, only blood came out from his mouth while his body slowly separated in two.

Aiden only looked coldly to the man for a moment before turning around to search for Lia.

His body was completely tired, and the energy inside him was again practically empty. But even with it, he had to search for her.

But when he turned around, the sight before him frightened him completely.

Lia, in a completely different state than normal, was holding a thread in her hand.

And not far from her, a dark-skinned youth had his limbs tied by a group of threads.

… But even more surprising were the threads wrapped around the image of a crow projected behind the youth.

Surprisingly, Lia had trapped a spirit.