Published at 29th of July 2022 10:02 am

Chapter 230

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The interior of the building was just as dark as the outside area had been, and if not for my level I would have had trouble seeing. I assumed that it was so dark in the umbrin clan area because of their connection and clear history with the dark affinity. For someone who used the dark affinity, it was always better to fight in darkness or dimmer areas full of shadows.

Pate was sound asleep, resting on a large bed, and he looked much better than he had in the arena. I couldn't spot any burns or bruises on him which meant the healers had done their job, and since they hadn't said anything about any mental injuries, I assumed they either hadn't detected any or there simply weren't any.

In any case, we were about to find out.

"Are we just gonna wake him up?" I asked Zirani.

She nodded and raised a finger. Aether converged around the tip of the finger and formed a pattern which she released. A small red berry with bronze splotches formed and after bringing it up to her eye and focusing, Zirani smiled and walked over to Pate.

"What is that?" I asked, understanding some of what she'd done but not all.

"This berry should rejuvenate him and help heal his mind," she replied. "This is something you will eventually be learning. I didn't have enough aether to do this before when we were in the aether tower, but with your progression and the boost from your divine bloodline, I can. It will take a minute or two to work."

She walked over and opened Pate's mouth before placing the berry in. To my surprise, the berry seemed to dissolve, and Pate gagged for a moment before Zirani helped him swallow it.

He coughed and then his breathing evened out once more.

"Now to bind him," Zirani said, using aether to create roots and then have them wrap around Pate. "Just in case he's volatile."

"What are we going to ask him?" Misty asked.

"First we need to figure out how coherent and mental sound he is," Zirani said. "If he isn't then we need to figure out a way to explain it to everyone. If he is, then we need to make sure he keeps everything a secret."

"And how would we do that?" Sandra asked.

Zirani shrugged. "Most likely a soul oath with his life as the cost of breaking it."

"I think he's waking up now," I said, noticing Pate's eyelids twitching. They slowly opened and for a long moment he just blinked rapidly and started up at the ceiling before his eyes finally wandered over to us. They landed on me and a mix of emotions appeared on his face before it settled on gratitude.

"Thank you," he said, his voice hoarse, and different.

Pate while the parasite had been in control had sounded bored most of the time and empty of any emotion. Even when he'd gotten angry that hadn't really changed, but this voice, Pate's voice sounded normal.

Zirani stepped forward. "Pate?"

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm… I'm Pate."

A tear fell from his right eye as he spoke the words, and his hands shook as he took a deep and slow breath.

"I'm Pate," he repeated more to himself than us.

"Well Pate," Zirani said softly with a sympathetic smile. "We have a few questions for you, mainly to determine what state of mind you are in and how much you know. Are you ok with answering?"

Zirani's tone was soft and gentle, and I didn't blame her. From what it seemed, Pate had been awake while the parasite had been in control. A watched unable to do anything whilst a parasite controlled his body.

Pate nodded. "I am."

"How long was it in control?" Zirani asked.

"It started when I was seven," Pate said, closing his eyes. "I didn't know what it was at first, and whenever I tried to tell someone, I couldn't. Like something was stopping. Now I know, it was stopping me. It started off small with moments where I did things that I didn't mean to or say things and it slowly got worse and worse until at ten, it… took over. I could feel everything that happened and see everything, but I had no control. Sometimes for just a few seconds, I would take back control, but that lessened over the years, and up until Aiden killed it, I just watched."

I felt even more pity for him than before. I couldn't imagine what that must feel like. Being able to do nothing as your body and life were taken from you. Even worse, unless Pate had been able to read its mind, he didn't have any idea why it'd taken over and what it would do. It seemed like it had just stepped into his shoes which must have been torturous, especially since Kai and his family seemed proud of him, but it wasn't him. It was the parasite.

Whoever this group was behind the flesh abominations, and these creatures along with horror aether were seriously messed up. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, something like this was revealed.

"What did it do?" Zirani said. "Did it just take over your life or did it do certain things that seemed off to you."

"Well for the most part it just acted like it was me, and mostly like it was human," Pate answered. "But every once in a while it would sneak off and speak to people. Odd people."

"Odd as in how?" I asked.

Pate frowned. "It's hazy because he actively tried to suppress me when he did so. It was like he was smothering me, but I still saw some things. Just a few days ago, he met in the city with two people, and…"

Pate shook his head as his words trailed off. "I need some time to piece things together. It's all muddled."

"I see," Zirani said. "Well Pate, I'm happy this parasite is gone and sorry you had to go through that but before I leave you, I need to make sure you don't tell anyone about any of this."

He nodded. "I won't. I know what it will cause. I promise."

"That's not good enough," Zirani said. "I need you to swear on your soul at pain of death that you will never speak of this to anyone."

I expected some complaint but to my surprise, he just nodded, and a moment later he was repeating what Zirnai told him to. It was worded in such a way that he would not be able to tell anyone and Zirani also explained that there were different types of deals and oaths that could be made. Some required precise wording while for others it was intent-based and the wording didn't need to be perfect. In this case, Zirani used a very well-worded oath for Pate to repeat. One that made sure he would never be able to tell anyone apart from us and those we allowed.

"It's done." Zirani smiled down at Pate. "I suggest you rest and just relax, take in the fact that you are in control once more. You were awake so you know what's happened and what's expected. Don't show any drastic changes. Instead, do it slowly. Make it seem like the fight and this talk helped you see things differently."

He nodded. "I will."

Turning to me, he bowed. "Thank you once again."

I smiled sincerely. "No worries, and also, no hard feelings. I don't blame you for what it did."

Pate relaxed, and after Sandra and Misty bid him goodbye, we left the tent.

Kai had left, but Lucy was waiting outside with a nervous look on her face. She bowed when we walked out of the tent and diverted her eyes when Sandra stopped in front of her.

"We need to talk, but later," Sandra said. "For now, give him a few moments. He's still recovering."

Lucy nodded. "I-I understand."

We left the Umbrin clan area and headed back to the green court area because despite everything we had learned and all the bad, in the end, things had worked out. I had won, Sandra was safe, and Misty was staying. Not to mention the city was also healed and doing well.

"I'm glad that's over with," Misty said.

"I wouldn't say that," Zirani said. "These things and wherever they come from. Well, I don't think this is the end of it. We've made enemies that much is clear."

"We'll be ready," I said.

"Oh I'll make sure of that," Zirani said. "But that for another time. Now we should celebrate your victories. Each of you fought and each of you won. Let us feast and then we can bathe, perhaps we'll have some fun there before we finally move onto the bedroom."

Misty and Sandra smiled, clearly liking the sound of her idea. I couldn't help but agree, and a wide smile bloomed on my face as we walked together, side by side.

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