"What do you mean everyone will die?"
Leon panicked a little. Did she know about the titan? Will she just fight the thing anyway?
"You see the kingdom has a prophet. She was not very well known at first. But one day she predicted the King's death."
Aurelia frowned before continuing.
"She was then imprisoned and executed. But right before execution, she said that the kingdom would burn in flames, that it will be consumed by gold."
She sighed.
"Which is why, after my father died, the royal assembly tore itself apart, and hence the civil war."
Leon froze. He knew exactly what the prophet spoke of. The looming disaster felt closer than ever as he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Why? Why don't you just run away?"
Aurelia looked up as she widened her eyes. She was quite stunned by the direct words from Leon. She smiled.
"It doesn't matter if they hate me, they are like a family to me."
Leon frowned but she simply continued.
"Plus, I honestly didn't know I could get out before today. I did have my doubts but I was never brave enough."
Leon stared at her in complete disbelief.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if she was brave or already dead.
"You fool!", he said harshly. "What would you have done if you died?"
Aurelia chuckled but it slowly died down as her expression grew darker.
"I could use my life to save theirs, I think I would."
She hesitated, then smiled.
"Maybe that's selfish. But it's all I have left."
Leon couldn't understand her emotions.
Why would she go so far for people she barely knew?
Why would she risk her life when she could just run away?
Leon lay back and closed his eyes.
For the first time since entering the nightmare, he hoped the titan would come sooner rather than later.
He slowly fell asleep as he heard the crackling of the fire.
***
Leon woke up a few hours later. Aurelia was still up near the fire.
'Damn, I fell asleep. She must've stayed up the whole time.'
Leon ruffled his hair as he spoke up.
"You should...get some rest--
He hesitated before saying
"If you want to, of course."
Aurelia looked up at him silently before smiling.
"Thank you Leon."
She then leaned back and closed her eyes.
Leon sighed.
'She really shouldn't trust people this easily...'
He stood up and went near the cave entrance.
Leon froze as he saw a large beast near the entrance, just standing there.
Its shadow swallowed the cave mouth, wings folded tight, eyes reflecting firelight.
He tensed up. He was not a fighter so he had to wake Aurelia up.
But before he could move, he studied the beast more closely.
Then he recognized the curve of its beak. He realized it was the same bird that brought the two here.
He got closer to the bird with slow steps as the bird noticed him and simply ignored him.
Leon sighed as he walked past the bird exiting the cave.
He looked around for a while hoping no beast would attack them.
He got back inside the cave to find Aurelia sleeping. He saw her hair ruffled up due to all the flying, and yet she still looked like a princess.
"Nightmare. This is a nightmare, Leon. She isn't real."
He snapped out of his thoughts and sat back down.
He began thinking about everything that happened so far.
'Aurelia must have been painted as a traitor by now. Just how does she plan to get them out?'
He expected it to have something to do with the divine flame. That was the only thing that felt unnatural. Perhaps there was something else waiting in the treasury.
But considering how Aurelia and all the injured soldiers were near a prison of all places, her territory must not be the best.
He looked back at her.
'Just how does she do all this?'
As much as he wanted to help her, he knew he was powerless against the titan. He needed to think of a plan. If she planned on releasing them, they would definitely have to travel back inside the kingdom.
Leon grimaced. He didn't want to go back.
But could he even refuse?
Oathbound should protect him, in theory.
And theory meant nothing inside a nightmare.
There were too many variables.
Worst of all, he still didn't know what the nightmare actually wanted.
Hours passed as Leon drowned in his thoughts thinking about everything he could do.
As much as he did not want to go back inside the kingdom, the nightmare was not over — which meant the key to finishing was inside the walls.
Aurelia seemed to wake up as she groaned and slowly got up. She looked around slowly and focused on Leon and smiled.
Leon felt warm when she smiled, he couldn't explain why but he liked seeing her smile.
"What's the plan now?"
He asked.
Aurelia positioned herself as she dusted her clothes.
"Let's go find the divine flame, it could probably help us."
'Divine flame?'
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"Then why did we cross the wall?"
The divine flame sounded liked some sort of powerful artifact, but it was possibly inside the walls, so why did she waste so much time coming out?
Aurelia sighed.
"There is not a single place inside the wall that's safe. Due to the limited space, every corner has been occupied by the citizens."
She paused for a second and continued.
"And let's just say I don't have many friends inside the wall."
Leon looked at her blankly.
"So you risked your life for potentially nothing. Have no clue about how to free the kingdom, and the only friend you have is a powerless outsider?"
Aurelia froze and smiled brightly.
"We're friends? That's so great Leon! You're the first friend I've had."
Leon opened his mouth... then closed it.
Aurelia kept smiling like a fool as she got up and went towards the opening, and Leon followed behind her.
'This woman will be the end of me...'
She stepped near the entrance as the bird leaned it's beak towards. Aurelia held it's beak as she caressed it's feathers.
She then turned towards Leon and said:
"This is Rhea, my companion."
Leon looked at Rhea and smiled slightly.
"She looks cool. I'd want a bird one day too. Maybe in black."
Aurelia narrowed her eyes.
"White is better."
As the two acted as if they did not have grand goals to achieve, they continued bickering over colors.
Eventually their banter stopped as they prepared to enter the walls again.
"This time, we'll go through a small opening that most don't know about. This should lead us directly into one of the alleyways."
She paused, letting Leon digest everything she said and continued.
"We then get to the Basilica, enter the inner sanctum, and retrieve the flame. Easy!"
Leon simply stared at her without saying a word.
'She'll get me killed before the titan does...'
***
They ran along the outer edge of the wall until Aurelia slowed near a collapsed section of stone.
She slowly approached the rubble while Leon just stood back.
Aurelia turned to Rhea.
"You go for now," she murmured. "I'll call you."
The bird stared at her for a while before taking flight and flying off.
'How come the bird is safe from the wall?'
Aurelia approached the rubble and studied it in silence, fingers brushing against loose stone.
She then turned back to Leon and gestured for him to follow.
He went near her, as the two made their way through the rubble.
They were in a narrow space, crawling across while Leon hissed as jagged stone bit into his knees, forcing him to crawl slower than he liked.
Eventually they got out the other side.
Aurelia simply jumped down while Leon slowly dropped.
Leon straightened and found himself in a narrow alley that branched into a maze of forgotten passageways.
Around them were old buildings that seemed deserted.
Aurelia scaled the wall and slipped through a window above one of the tall houses.
Moments later, a rope dropped down. Leon grabbed it and climbed after her.
Eventually he got inside the window as he saw that it was a small room with a bed — a few boxes and a bag of what looked to be seeds.
Leon was looking around as Aurelia closed the window.
"This is my secret base. We can gear up here."
He nodded as she began rummaging through the boxes.
"Hey Aurelia?"
"Yeah?"
"Who's the strongest person in this kingdom."
Aurelia froze and then slowly straightened her back. She turned to him and smiled.
She didn't answer.
Aurelia simply straightened and tapped her chest twice.
Leon kept staring in disbelief.
'You're kidding me...'
He stopped his thought midway and spoke:
"An awakened is the strongest in the entire sun kingdom? The kingdom that has been here for centuries?"
Aurelia's smile froze on her face as it disappeared slowly. She began rummaging through the boxes again while she spoke.
"The sun kingdom is weird. No matter how much someone tries they can't seem to ascend. Must be one of the... blessings of the Sun God."
Aurelia spoke in a light and humorous tone but Leon was terrified.
His breath caught.
If an Awakened was the peak of this kingdom, then the titan wasn't a threat. It was an extinction.
He put his palm over his face as he let out a shaky breath, staring into the distance.
'It's ok. I can get out. I just need to...'
He looked back at Aurelia.
'I can try convincing her to leave with me.'
"By the way Leon."
She said without turning toward him.
"If you don't mind me asking. Your soul core looks weird. It looks like its already formed, and yet it feels like it doesn't exist."
Leon froze. He didn't know what to tell her. If she could determine he had a soul core but wasn't awakened, it meant she could observe a lot.
He knew that before the spell hit, humans usually formed their soul cores much later after becoming Awakened.
Leon sighed as he answered.
"My situation is a bit unique you see. I was cursed."
Aurelia froze and shot back up again.
"You're cursed? Are you sure? Can I help?"
Leon chuckled.
"No, don't worry. It's just that it's not exactly a curse. This curse is called Fated. It puts me in situations that are unlikely to happen, good or bad."
Aurelia frowned.
"No wonder you ended up in that cell. What a nasty curse."
She turned back and said
"Don't worry. After we get everyone out, we'll find a way to fix that curse."
Leon nodded.
"Yea...thanks."
'Why is she so...'
Aurelia eventually finished packing up and handed over a cloak to Leon.
"This cloak lets us stay invisible... mostly, so make sure not to make too much noise."
He nodded as she gave him a dagger.
"You don't have a weapon, so keep this for now."
Leon hesitated before taking the dagger.
"Why trust me so much?"
He asked quietly.
Aurelia looked up to him and stared at him.
"Because."
She paused and smiled.
"You're my first friend!"
Leon froze as she said that.
"Don't worry. As soon as we are back, I'll teach you how to fight. I can teach you the royal sword style!"
She said.
Leon narrowed his eyes as his attribute kicked up.
He felt a gnawing feeling claw up his throat as he spoke up.
"Do you mind showing me?"
Leon froze yet again, contemplating what he had just asked.
Aurelia seemed to be overjoyed as she nodded.
The room was a bit too small, so they went outside.
Aurelia closed her eyes and began swinging her sword.
Leon simply watched while he used Keen Insight to memorize the entire sequence she performed.
It looked less like a sword style and more like a dance where she simply slaughtered everything that came in her way.
Every swing was heavy, yet light enough to change direction. He could feel heat permeating all around him.
Aurelia eventually stopped and looked at him.
"What do you think the essence of combat is?"
Leon thought of an answer but couldn't find any. Back on Earth he never needed combat, so he did not know what to say. After a while he resigned thinking and simply answered:
"Murder?"
'Sorry Nephis...'
Aurelia widened her eyes slightly as she stared at Leon.
"Leon, you are not inexperienced after all!"
Leon laughed awkwardly.
"But no. I'd say the essence of combat is control."
She picked her sword up and began swinging again.
"Control over yourself. Control over your enemies. Control over the battlefield."
She stopped swinging as her sword suddenly got enveloped in flames.
"When you have absolute control, you have victory."
The flames disappeared and Aurelia then sheathed it and put on her cloak.
"Anyway, lectures for later, let's go find the flame. They might figure out what I want if we give them more time."
Leon nodded as he put his own cloak on and continued following.
As they moved on, Leon replayed Aurelia's sword dance over and over in his mind.
***