Ancient War - TBATE

Gone Wrong

Arthur Leywin Pov

Sylvie sat next to the fire, slowly stirring the soup with her focused gaze. Ellie sat next to her, cutting up vegetables and fruits. Aurora stood far away, drawing runes on the ground. I would've tried to memorize those runes, but they were disappearing as he wrote them.

From the glimpses I caught of them, they were extremely complex. Aside from that, those runes seemed similar to the ones on his hands. Unlike the calm state of mana and aether around me, aether and mana seemed to be in chaos around him.

I felt something was wrong with his aura. Augmenting my eyes, I studied his aura. Seeing the state of his aura, my eyes widened. His aura was constantly changing from chaotic to tranquil.

It was as if he was fighting for control, constantly suffering.

I could see through the mask he had on. He was like me, suffering but pretending to be happy. Aurora suffered a lot. Even from here, I could see it in his eyes, the sadness, loneliness, pain, and guilt.

Aurora might be a few thousand years old, but he's still a kid. That was what I felt when I reincarnated. I was old, but at that point, I was a kid. He was constantly fighting to control his body, which stopped him from developing mentally.

He might be stronger mentally, but he's in no way more mature.

I recalled my rejection of Tess in Xyrus with a bitter smile. In a way, Aurora and me were extremely similar. We were both worried, scared, and anxious, putting on a facade to seem happy.

Glancing over at Sylvie and Ellie, I swore in my heart that I would protect them at all costs. Thinking of Tess, I didn't know what I really felt towards her. I accepted her confession a few months ago, but was that really what I wanted?

I liked how Tess, that's something I didn't doubt, but did I really like her as something more than a friend? Sure, I always felt emotional towards her, but that also happened when I talked to Sylvie, Virion, my family, and even Aurora.

Virion supported us dating from day one, but what if that's not what I wanted?

What if I didn't like girls?

What if I liked someone else?

What if I didn't want to like anyone?

What if I wanted to be alone for my entire life?

Letting out a sigh, I continued to watch Aurora draw the runes on the ground. With each rune he finished, I felt the ambient aether grow denser and denser. Those runes continued to draw in aether from outside the zone, and I could feel my core absorb the ambient aether by itself, something I didn't think I could do.

"What are you looking at?" Ellie suddenly appeared next to me with a smirk, looking at Aurora. "I didn't know you were into boys."

Reaching out, my hands pinched her cheeks before she could react. "It's not nice to tease your brother."

Ellie flailed around to try and free herself. "I'm sowwy!"

Releasing her, she stumbled back, rubbing her red cheeks with fake teary eyes. Hearing footsteps approaching, Ellie and I looked at Aurora as he approached.

His gaze swept across the camp as he sighed. "If you two are done squabbling, how about we eat?"

"I didn't think you have to eat." I commented as I stood up and dusted myself off.

"I don't, but I do enjoy the taste." Aurora quipped.

"Ah..." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly.

"Come on, or the food will get cold!" Sylvie shouted from across the camp.

"Alright, mom!" Ellie taunted.

Sylvie ignored Ellie and placed four bowls filled with soup on the makeshift table. I could tell she was used to this, making me wonder just how long it's been for her. Aside from growing, she was the same Sylvie I knew. Aurora practically teleported towards the table before gulping down his soup.

"Wait for us!" Ellie called out, running towards the table.

I sat down next to Aurora while Ellie and Sylvie sat next to each other. It's been a while since Ellie ate, and as a yellow core mage, she needed to eat. Just like Aurora, Sylvie and I didn't need to eat, but we did enjoy the taste.

Suddenly, Aurora paled as he stared at Sylvie with wide eyes. "Sylvie... Did you use the vegetable growing near the portal?"

I swear I could hear Aurora's voice cracking, and looking and Ellie and Sylvie, they heard the same thing. I looked at Aurora with wide eyes, wondering what could make him pale like that.

"I did... Why?" Sylvie frowned.

"That was an aphrod-"

Before Aurora could finish his sentence, I felt the darkness overtake me as I lost consciousness.

A/N: Slightly shorter chapter, but you can all blame Absaar for the idea.