"That would be me. The person they want you to deal with is me," Aaron said, turning his head as he scanned the two men before him, giving the aura of gods. His eyes narrowed, assessing their power, a faint smile playing on his lips as he sensed their strength.
"It seems you guys are the first humans, with me out of the equation perhaps, to become gods," Aaron praised, his tone genuine but laced with a challenge, his hybrid senses tingling with the thrill of a new fight.
"It is so. Nathan. Is it true? Is he the one?" Rain asked, a frown creasing his face, his hand twitching toward a weapon at his side.
Nathan nodded his head slowly, hoping Rain and Cain could get the job done and save him from his impending doom.
Rain and Cain. If Geralt was the human with the fastest growth rate, then Rain and Cain were not considered humans at all. The duo had been best friends since childhood, climbing together, each acting as the other’s support as they aimed for the top.
They both became demigods at the age of twenty-five before reaching a roadblock. Reaching demigod was the limit of their growth phase. Unlike others, they couldn’t become gods no matter how they tried.
That’s where Nathan came in to offer them a solution, his actions all part of Draken’s plan. With divination, Nathan was able to find a solution, the elixir, which he told them the location of with the deal of them owing him a favor, a debt they had arrived to pay.
"So? What did you want us to do to him?" Rain asked, staring at Aaron without a single emotion on his face. They weren’t guilty or pleased with the task they had to do. They didn’t allow themselves to feel pity or any form of emotion. Just deal with it like collateral damage and be on their way with their freedom earned.
"Alright, guys. You’re jumping the gun already," Aaron said, breaking the tense atmosphere. His voice was light, but his eyes glowed with a dangerous intensity, the air vibrating with his God tier aura.
"Nathan. Since we were once friends, and we shared some happy moments together, I’ll offer you a quick death and won’t punish you too badly. Geralt. You’ve been annoying. Even tried to kill me once. Tried to kill my sister once as well. You’re a bad, bad, bad boy," Aaron shook his head, like a teacher scolding a naughty child, his tone mocking but laced with cold fury.
"You will suffer the fate of Endrick. A gruesome eternal years of suffering and luck deprivation. The same fate that Draken will share as well. As for you two," Aaron said calmly, turning to face Rain and Cain after giving his verdict to Nathan and co. "I have some use for you," Aaron said, his eyes glowing red and gold, the air humming with his compulsion. Read complete version only at novel⚑fire.net
"Don’t move an inch," he commanded, turning to face Nathan once more. His voice resonated like a divine decree, the Golden Siren’s power weaving through the air, inescapable.
Rain and Cain were shocked beyond words. They tried everything within them to move a muscle but realized after countless attempts that it was impossible, their bodies refusing to disobey the man before them, their god-tier auras faltering under his command.
"Good. Now. What did I say about time before some guests interrupted us? Right. It’s irony to buy time when your opponent is me. Stagnant Zone," Aaron called, time within the entire room coming to a halt, including the corruption percentage. The air froze, the device’s 99.9% glowing still, the world locked in his temporal grip.
Within the frozen time, Aaron moved unhurriedly, freeing those tied to tubes, including Geralt. His hands were steady, pulling the tubes free with care, the metallic clinks muffled in the halted time.
He stared at the dried-up corpses before him with a calm look. Some of them were people he knew—Levi, Liam, Dream, Joseph, Vinemaster, and some new faces. They were all dead, the essence in their bodies completely used up, their forms skeletal and drained, a grim testament to Draken’s cruelty.
With purpose, Aaron injected his blood into every one of them, bringing them back to life. But they all remained frozen still in the time halt sphere, their eyes glowing faintly as his immortal blood took hold, vitality creeping back into their forms.
"Things might get nasty later on," Aaron thought, changing his mind about seeking the opinion of Rain and Cain before turning them. He simply fed them his blood and killed them, their bodies collapsing in the frozen time, the transformation beginning as his blood worked its magic. The rest could be explained afterwards as he sent them to the sanctuary through a rift, the portal shimmering briefly.
After that, Aaron found two more corpses. Compared to the others, these two weren’t just dried but mummified, dry like they had been turned to mummies for over a thousand years, their forms brittle and ancient, connected to tubes in a separate corner of the basement.
Staring at those corpses, tears fell from his eyes. He didn’t know the reason, he couldn’t control it, but his heart ached seeing those two corpses still connected to the tubes away from the others. The pain was raw, a visceral pull from his reincarnated soul, as if his body remembered what his mind did not.
"Mum. Dad," Aaron called softly, walking slowly toward them. He might not know them, after all, he was just a reincarnated person, but his body did, and every emotion one could feel from seeing their parents after so long, especially when they were suffering, Aaron felt. The heartache, the sadness, the agony—his body ensured he felt all of them, his hybrid heart pounding with grief.
With a shaky hand, Aaron brought down his parents from the tubes, feeding them his immortal blood as he watched with happiness, the colors and vitality returning to the dead corpses. Their skin softened, their eyes flickered, life seeping back under his power, a bittersweet victory.
He hugged his parents’ bodies softly, before sending them to the sanctuary, leaving those within it to handle it. The rift closed behind them, a gentle hum in the frozen time, his heart heavy but resolute.
He knew he couldn’t afford to be distracted and take a lot of time. He wasn’t a fan of the cliché of heroes wasting so much time until some negative event occurred. He always believed in effective and quick action when he could. Call it a businessman’s instinct; he sure as hell planned to follow that principle to the letter.
"Welcome back," Aaron smiled, allowing time to flow once more, as he smiled at the three nuisances to him. He was going to punish them, but he wanted them to see him while he did just that, his eyes glowing with cold intent, the basement’s air crackling with his power.