The Redemption of the Fallen Captain

Chapter 6: Prized Possession

  Wooden crackled; the crackling sound gradually became higher and higher. A pungent and cloying smell entered through Aidan's nostrils, causing him to wake up and start coughing. He lied on the ground, covered with a ragged, leather blanket. His head ached immensely and felt dizzy, as if he had ridden a wild horse, galloping rapidly and doing tens of circles under the scorching sun. But oddly enough, the first thing he noticed—once he had fully woken up—was that his clothes weren't covered in blood or smelling with its pungent odour.

  It was night; the dark sky gleaming with its millions of stars, as the moonlight fell on the land. In the dark area where Aidan was, the only source of light illuminating, was a campfire in front of him; the fire sparkled, wisps of flame came out slowly as the wood proving the fire, continued to crackle. And there, on the opposite side, was the boy who was able to knock him unconscious—a feat that had left Aidan dumbfounded. More importantly, he was "791", the person that he had to find.

  He shouldn't have been less than fourteen, as Aidan had originally thought. And his name was Akito, called young master by the two people that were with him before. Akito sat on a wooden log; He looked troubled, as he put nearby wooden branches into the fire (He had a few left in front of his leather boots), the corners of his mouth were curved downwards, as if a dark cloud spun above him. Behind him was a small tent. Well, it could have been called a tent, but it had been set up wrong, as it could fall in any second.

  Aidan was speechless. He didn't know what to say, and even if he were to say something, what would he say? Well, he could have started with the reason behind the number: 791. But he felt that it wasn't the right time. All Aidan could do now, was to sit silently, staring at the fire, until Akito would speak.

  And it didn't take long, until he noticed that Aidan was awake. Akito instantly dropped the branch he was holding and stared at him, his eyes reminded of Aidan's, before the agonizing battle against the colossal monster, eyes full of anguish. Silence surrounded them for a few seconds, until Akito finally opened his mouth. "Y-you called me '791', did you not?" he asked nervously. "Tell me, how do you know... M-my number?"

  Aidan didn't know how respond. Reveal to him the words of the goddess? He would rather not. Just what answer could he give to that boy? Silent as he was, he felt a prompting to his spirit to look at the ground.

  Strangely as it sounded, he firmly believed it could mean something, because that wasn't something out of the blue. It had happened many times before: Feeling a prompt in his spirit, often led to something good; he's 'sudden trump card' is what he would call it.

  Aidan took a deep breath, averting his gaze towards the ground; and to his surprise, there was a wooden log in front of his ragged shoes, carved with four huge letters: T ,H, T, T. The prompt he had felt was indeed correct. Aidan was no stranger to secret meanings; the riddles against the cunning Mython of the Zen labyrinth, proved to be a tough match, but in the end, he had succeeded.

  'T' could mean 'The' Aidan thought. But no, 'The... Ham?' That's not it.

  This riddle bewildered him, contemplating once more for the answer. Hmm, if the first word was 'The', then... Aidan thought, placing his right hand under his chin. Then, what word could possibly continue it?! Anxiousness slowly started to rack in him, with the crooked hands of pressure caressing him.

  If we were to link it with our current situation. T-talk? No, it cannot go with 'Him'. 'Tell' should be then.

  Instantly after, Aidan realized this situation couldn't be nothing, but Aoi's help, filling his weary heart with ecstasy. "Tell" the first word and "Him" the second word. Now, the next two words were slightly difficult for him to find. Minutes must have passed, until he had found the next word, seeming to be "The". However, Akito wasn't saying a word, as if he hadn't realized how much time had passed, staring blankly at Aidan.