A Hell Called Serestral - Chapter 35

Aries knelt right next to Princess Pieffer and bowed his head down to the ground in front of the prayer stone. He repeated it three times.

“He seemed like a good guy,” Aries murmured with guilt. “I feel bad for getting his body killed.”​​

“He lived his life well,” Princess Pieffer agreed with a reminiscent smile. “He was grateful that he had been given the chance to reside in your body,” she glanced at Aries and seriously asked him, “Do you want to relive his life while he is inside your body?”

“I don’t want to add more weight on my conscience,” Aries glanced back to the grave with so much respect. “What if he is the one who could put an end to this vicious cycle?”

“Though he lived his life well while he was in your body, you are the only one who could save Serestral,” the princess sincerely believed in the Aries right in front of her. “He could only do so little because he was not able to tap on your abilities.”

“He kept the House of Ram safe for ten years,” Aries stated. “He did all that without using Vermillion. How can that be so little?”

“His mind could do wonders and his running ability was remarkable,” Princess Pieffer beamed proudly. “We saved a lot of children from different houses because of it. Some of them wanted to become warriors. Others wanted to help around your house. Others simply wanted to read, write, and enjoy their childhood. The alternate Aries just let them do what they wanted to do. He was like a supportive older brother to those children.”

“I can’t be like him,” Aries lowered his head to the ground. “Forgive me if one day I ruin the reputation you earned all these years.”

“He believes in you,” Princess Pieffer said. “Even if he had passed on, I’m sure that he is watching over you. If you want to speak with him, you can easily do that now. That is the advantage of learning the skill of a shaman,” she winked at him.

“No wonder you wanted to learn all the skills you are seeing,” Aries smiled. “Maybe I will try to summon his spirit once I am not ashamed to face him. For now, I want to make another prayer stone.”

“You can gather some stones behind the bushes,” Princess Pieffer informed him. “Do you want to be left alone?”

“You can leave if you want to,” Aries got up on his feet and gathered some stones.

“Then I’ll be staying,” the princess beamed and remained kneeling in front of the prayer stone he built for the alternate Aries.

“Are you going to pray for something?” the princess curiously asked when Aries returned from behind the bushes, cradling a lot of stones.

“For someone,” he corrected after resuming his place right next to the princess.

He put the stones one after the other until he had created a pile that was as high as the prayer stone built by the princess.

“This is for Lady Pieffer,” he bowed his head to the ground three times with tears in his eyes.

Thank you for coming into my life. My world became less gloomy because of your smile.

Thank you for the companionship. It was because you decided to stay that my life became less boring.

Thank you for the love. Because of my job, I never thought that I will be able to share my heart with anyone. It was you who showed me that I can still love.

Thank you for your trust. Even until the end, you had chosen to put your faith in someone like me.

I should not have listened to you and your brother. I should not have killed you. I should have convinced you to fight with me until the end.

I was a coward.

Forgive me. I hope you can because you deserve a better life in Heaven. You should not be filled with hate. Leave the punishment to my cursed fate.

You should be reborn with a happier fate.

Thank you, My Beloved.

Farewell.

Aries finally raised his head from the ground and wiped the tears in his eyes.

“Where should we go next?” he asked the princess.

“Our next goal is to save the House of Scale but before we go there, we will visit Quaria in the House of Pitcher.”

“Then we should get some sleep,” Aries got up on his feet.

“We should,” the princess agreed as she bolted upright.

They returned to their rooms after lowering their heads one last time to the two prayer stones.

^#########^

Aries had just drifted asleep when an axe cut through the peaceful darkness in his subconscious.

The glowing weapon changed its form and became the axe-wielder.

“You have a promise to keep! Why are you sleeping?!” the axe-wielder yelled furiously at him.

The last time they fought, Aries remembered a few things from his distant past. The name of the axe-wielder was one of those memories. It was Gani Cleaver.

“Of course, I need to sleep,” Aries frowned. “I will keep my promise. You just have to be patient. Your wish cannot be rushed.”

“I told you everything you want to know! I need to see you making an effort! Keep your promise or you will never sleep in peace!” Gani screamed so annoyingly.

“Stop threatening me,” Aries coldly commanded. “I can imprison you at that glass container any time I want.”

“Go on then!” Gani hammered his axe on the dark ground. “It doesn’t make any difference.”

“It doesn’t make any difference?” Aries repeated those words ominously. “Inside that container, you cannot take your own form. You cannot speak. You cannot move. You can only show yourself to me through nightmares that were too weak to scare me. You want to return there?”

Silence had floated between them. Gani was glaring hatefully but he had still taken a step backward before disappearing.

Aries sighed. He should be resting as much as possible but the axe-wielder had made it impossible for him to return to sleep.

He just decided to visit Venera in the rows of glass containers. She was also in the form of her weapon, a leather whip. And it seemed that Celestial Knights were always in the front row.

He touched the glass but quickly pulled away as a bolt of electricity had hit his palm. Venera was furious.

“I understand,” Aries had seriously said. “I will grant your wish. You just have to wait.”

^##############^

“My Princess, I have to say goodbye for now.”

Despite the sadness in his eyes, Pines could still eat a lot. He and Aries seemed to be competing the moment they sat at the dining table.

“I will be back to join you for a longer time,” he unwillingly got up on his feet and glared at Aries. “Fight me fair and square! Don’t make any unfair moves while I am away. I will be back soon. I’ll just have to win against Siorre,” he affectionately glanced at the princess. “Wait for me.”

He crushed a transport bracelet in his hand and he was gone in an instant.

“Finally, some quiet time,” Prince Sunrei sagged on his seat.

“You don’t look well,” Princess Pieffer was looking at her brother with worry.

“I’m just tired.”

“You slept all day. Why are you still tired?” Aries suspiciously glared at the prince.

“I’m… worried,” the prince laid his head on the dining table. “Ever since that day I encountered Merrick, my body began to feel… strange…”

“Strange?” Aries raised an eyebrow.

The prince sighed and said, “I feel… like I’m… I’m losing control of this body. Sometimes, I find it hard to lift my hand. I need to concentrate a lot before I could raise it up. I don’t want to give this body up…”

“Then don’t give it up,” Aries firmly commented. “If a Celestial Knight could tie his soul in the body of their vessels, we can also do it. Maybe a shaman knows something about it. Should we ask Shaman Mina?”

“We can try,” Princess Pieffer eagerly agreed. “Let’s ask her now.”

^#############^

“No, I don’t have any knowledge in binding a soul to the vessel,” Shaman Mina had answered their inquiry and there was anxiety in her eyes. “Souls should be free. We only summon them for a moment to ask for their aid. But that’s it. Why do you want to bind them?”

“This is for the greater good,” Aries assured the elder shaman.

“I am against this,” Shaman Mina sighed heavily. “But if you have to do this, you can try asking the Scale House Leader.”

“I don’t think that we can find any help in that place,” Princess Pieffer was deeply anxious.

“The Scale House Leader is a reasonable person,” Shaman Mina had stated. “If you save her house, I think she will fairly reward you. Her word has power. If she decided on something, it will become irrevocable. If you tell her that this is important in saving our kingdom, I think she will agree on it.”

“I still doubt it,” Princess Pieffer was getting more anxious.

“We are going there anyway,” Aries reminded her. “We should at least try, right?”

“Right,” she sighed then smiled nervously. “Let’s visit Quaria first.”

“Thank you, Shaman Mina,” Prince Sunrei bowed low to the elder. Princess Pieffer and Aries did the same.

“We know Gin-Ren is busy. Please send our regards to her,” the princess said before breaking a transport bracelet.

^#########^