The Life I Gained From Dying

Chapter 45 - Trust

"Is it really okay for me to come here on my own?" Kaden pondered to himself.

On the far outskirts of Aestus, Kaden found himself traversing an unbeaten path, which led to a well-kept cottage at the end of the trail. During his fruitless search for Elder Aira, Kaden instead encountered Elder Treya, whom he then expressed his concerns to. Treya then gave Kaden the directions to this house, which was roughly a mile outside of the main village. She only had one other thing to say to him before he went there, and that was:

"Do what you feel is necessary." She said before walking away.

The puzzled Kaden took those words without knowing where he should need them. Nevertheless, he went forward towards the cottage.

Knock Knock Knock

"Ding dong, anybody home?" Kaden exclaimed as he stood before the front door of the cottage.

Footsteps from inside were easily heard from the outside, but after a few seconds passed, there was silence once again.

"Should I knock again?" Kaden thought as he stood there waiting for a response.

He raised his fist to the door once more, but before an impact was made, the door swung inward, revealing one of the inhabitants of this cottage.

"Is there an issue?" Jayson questioned.

Kaden took a second to inspect the person he had met once before.

"How old is this kid?" Kaden questioned in his head. "He's tall, but he looks like a high schooler."

"You're that guy that came through the gate back then?" Jayson asked.

"Yeah, that's me. We didn't properly introduce ourselves last time. Kaden Adams." He said while extending his hand out to him.

Jayson stared at Kaden's open hand with an indifferent expression before grasping and shaking it just once.

"Jayson Hillinger." Jayson replied. "Is there a reason for your sudden visit today?"

"Well, I heard through the grapevine that you're a fire essence user." Kaden stated as he turned to look out into the front yard of the cottage.

"Through the grapevine?"

"I doubt you're gonna believe me, but I actually am a fire essence user too."

"..."

Amidst the silence, Jayson watched Kaden with a suspicious glare until Kaden finally turned to look back at him.

"I knew you weren't gonna believe me, but could you at least say somethin'."

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you?" Jayson questioned.

"...They say I'm a lost soul." Kaden answered in a melancholic tone. "I died in another world and was about to pass on to the afterlife, but for some reason no one knows, I ended up here instead. So now I'm completing the gates so I can possibly go home."

"..."

"What, you still don't believe me?"

"It isn't that." Jayson replied as he stepped outside and closed the door. "I can tell that you're being serious. I've read a little about lost souls when I was younger, cause someone I know was really interested in that sort of stuff. Personally, I thought that kind of stuff was all just water continent folklore. Shape-shifting cats, a lake that could revive the dead, and people traveling here from different realms all seem like superstitions."