Crimson Phoenix Guardian- Aspiration to the Heavens: Becoming the Supreme Mage 4

Episode 106: Cheering Up

*Kun*

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled, chasing Nat down the hall to the entrance of his room. Luckily, Cart wasn't around. Or maybe it was bad. The guy seemed like a wildcard. He could've easily made the situation worse or better.

"Leave me alone," Nat said as he opened the door of his room.

I stuck my arm in before he could close it. "I know you're worried about your big brother! Trust me, I know the feeling. From the perspective of the one who disappeared..."

His grip on the handle loosened. "Disappeared?"

I walked into the room. "Right, you don't know the full story. I disappeared years ago after fighting my best friend. Due to circumstances, I had to make them believe that I had died." My eyes shifted to the carpeted floor. "I didn't like doing so. I would feel guilty. Sometimes, I would even have nightmares of returning to find my siblings had died."

He turned away. "A dream, huh? On the train ride to Mira's country, I saw a vision of Dan. He was being consumed by ice."

"I've heard."

He sat down on his bed and pulled out a blue elephant plushie. "Say, do you think he might still be alive?"

I lingered for awhile as I thought of the best thing to say. Lying would make things worse. "Honestly, I am not sure. Abyssia is a harsh place."

"You've been there before, right?"

"I've only traveled through the corridors and the like. But I've read and heard descriptions about it. Your brother and cousin must've told you about it, if they didn't wish to keep such sights to themselves."

He hugged the elephant. "They have. I can't stop thinking that what Uncle was going to tell Lei could've easily been bad news. Even if it was good, I would have no way of knowing how to help my brother as yours didn't hear the full message."

I patted his shoulder. "Well, I'm sure they'll interact again."

"True, but by then it might be too outdated, that's assuming Dan's alive still," he mumbled.

I sighed. This kid sure could be negative. Here I thought he was the peppy kind. Well, not that I didn't have my melancholic moments too. If anything, I might've been worse.

"Say, what do you know about your uncle?" I asked.

Nat leaned against the wall. "My uncle's name is Takeshi. He's the husband of Mama's big sister, Anis. I don't recall much, given I was only around six at the time. But I do remember hearing that him being alive was a shock to his kids."

"Wait, they know he's alive?"

He shook his head. "Well, sort of. All I know is that he went missing in Abyssia, but he's one of the people that we wanted to rescue along with my siblings."

Wait, siblings? Was Dan not the only one missing?

"But what I was referring to happened before that. Uncle was believed to have died long before I was born. I also heard he did bad things between the time of his supposed death and the reveal. My cousin Tetsu seemed to hold a grudge against him."

Believed to have died huh? Was he like me? No, he was an abysmal. Him surviving was more possible than what happened with me.

"Is that all?"

He stared at his plushie and remained silent. "That's all that I can recall. Hide is the best person to ask."

I smiled. "Thanks. I'll see what I can do for you."