Wrath's Virtue

Lumi's normally impassive face was marked by a slight frown as she stared at Aurelion.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

Roric was also confused by Aurelion's implication, but he knew better than anyone that this was no simple child. "Explain yourself more clearly, Aurelion."

"I will discuss the details with you in private, Captain," Aurelion said, then glanced at Lumi. "But I can say this. The incident in the Shadow Canyon was likely caused by the same reason." He rolled his single eye. "Primordia is blessing the wildlife in this world."

"Why would Primordia do such a thing? You're talking nonsense," Lumi retorted.

"I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm not going to deal with your bigotry," Aurelion said coolly. "I've given you the clue, Deep Guard Captain. You can find the proof yourself."

"Do you really think I'm going to launch an inquiry into Primordia based on the word of a child?"

Aurelion smirked slightly. "When you tell Clan Leader Morwenna about our conversation, she will tell you what you need to do, Deep Guard Captain Lumi."

Lumi's jaw tightened in anger, but she couldn't form a reply. Aurelion, satisfied, turned back to Roric. "Well now, Captain. If the conversation with the Deep Guard Captain is over, shall we return to more important matters?"

Roric let out a long sigh. "Captain Lumi," he began, "let's continue this conversation later, with more information. For now, let's continue our observation of the Storm Pass."

Lumi took a deep breath, her face returning to its emotionless mask. "No problem, Captain," she said, then looked at Aurelion from the corner of her eye. "I expect you'll explain things more clearly the next time we speak."

"Of course," Roric said, standing up. "Ulfgard's safety is our priority. It's important that we cooperate on this."

Lumi brought her fist to her chest in a salute to Roric and exited the room with brisk steps.

As soon as Lumi left, Aurelion walked over and sat in the chair opposite Roric. "Finally, we're rid of the unnecessary people," he said.

"Why did you bring this up while Lumi was here, brat?" Roric asked, sitting down himself.

"Primordia is planning something, and it is probably something I will not like," Aurelion replied. "It is in my interest to disrupt Primordia's plans."

Roric paused, his gaze lingering on Aurelion's face and the bandaged left side.

"What happened to you?" he asked, his voice was softer now. "The word Primordia never passed your lips before you went to the swamp." He then added, "What happened to your eye?"

Aurelion leaned back, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before turning his gaze back to Roric.

"The mission you gave me was a simple one, Captain," he began. "But... there was almost nothing that didn't happen to me. I'm not very strong yet, my Core is only Rank 1, but I still shouldn't have struggled so much just to collect a few goblin ears, spider eyes, and the leaves of a that damned plant."

"Explain," Roric said.

"Primordia... It is responsible for everything that happened to me from the moment I entered that swamp."

Roric continued to stare at Aurelion, his expression serious. Aurelion tapped his own head with his finger.

"Primordia was here, Captain. It planned everything just to enter my mind and communicate with me."

Roric's confusion deepened. "Brat. Slow down."

Aurelion smirked, looking at his captain. "Then let me tell you something you do know, Captain," he said. "The Laws..."

Roric's eyes widened.

"How do you know—"

"Primordia told me," Aurelion cut him off. He then leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table.

"What are these Laws, Captain?" he asked, his single golden eye looked into Roric's. "Because whatever they are, I have one, too."

Roric froze for a moment, then his eyes widened. "So that's how it was," he whispered, more to himself than to Aurelion. He looked at the boy, who looked at him, with a new understanding. "The things the War Chief and the sage Ulfar said... so they wanted me to observe you for this reason." He shook his head. "But for a baby to have an Understanding of a Law... that's... strange."

"I thought so too, Captain," Aurelion said. "That bitch Primordia told me I was innately compatible."

Roric's brows furrowed at the curse but he remained silent, waiting.

"Alright," Aurelion said, leaning back. "Let me answer your question first."

He began to recount his story. "I was chasing a few goblins. One of them was able to control the others like puppets and escaped from me. Later, while interrogating other goblins, I heard that this one had been blessed by a World Tree."

"Is that why you think the problems in the Shadow Canyon and Storm Pass are related to Primordia?" Roric interjected.

"I'm getting to that part, Captain," Aurelion said, and continued. His voice, which had been cold and analytical, began to tremble with rage. "When I found that goblin later, I was ambushed by another blessed one." He pointed a shaking finger at the bandages on his face. "...and the blessed one that ambushed me... it did this."

He took a breath, forcing his anger down. "After that, I entered a pond. I prepared myself for whatever might emerge, but a damned three meter tall Gulper came out of that tiny pond. While I was underwater, the Gulper ate the evolved one and the others. I escaped into the forest while it chased me, but I lost it."

"During this time, by some strange 'coincidence', I ran into a few lizardmen who wanted to hunt the Gulper." He spat the words with anger. "When I lost consciousness, they healed me. After I recovered, I led them to the Gulper's location and waited for the goblins to appear. While they were hunting the Gulper, the goblin horde appeared. The Gulper died, the goblins took losses, but their chief was a blessed hobgoblin with a pet spiders. Just as the chief was about to finish off the lizardmen, I put my spear through its throat and finished off the others."

"During the fight, the female lizardman who healed me was critically wounded. We took her to the goblin lair, to a World Tree that was only a few years old, in the deepest part of a damned goblin cave. I touched the World Tree to heal her, and that's when Primordia contacted me. It told me the only way to heal Zura was for it to enter my mind. I knew it was a lie, but I accepted. The lizardwoman was healed, and I disappeared from there and went to search for the lily. When I found it, I dealt with the creatures in the lake and swim to the lily to collect the leaves."

As he spoke, Aurelion opened his pack and placed the collected items on the table.

"I wanted to destroy that lily, and just as I was about to poison it with my energy, Primordia stopped my arm from moving. In a flash of anger, I broke free and hit the lily with more energy than I intended. As I was swimming to shore, the lily exploded, and I almost drowned to death because of the wave." His anger flared again. "And at the last moment... Primordia helped," he said. "When I got to shore, I fought her in my mind."

"You did what?" Roric asked, his voice was a disbelief.

Aurelion took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. "I couldn't win," he admitted.

"That was the summary, Captain," he said "But I can tell you this. She created a World Tree in a damned goblin cave and blessed the goblins just so I would come there. She summoned what was perhaps the strongest creature in that swamp from a tiny pond. She placed those lizardmen in my path just so I would be indebted to them, and she used that debt to enter my mind. She stopped me when I was about to kill that lily, not to protect the lily, but to test me. To see if I could break free of its influence. And when I struck the lily, she secretly poured its own energy into my attack, which is why the lily died so quickly. By doing that, she put me in a desperate situation and, at the last moment, tried to indebt me to itself again by HELPING ME! If I hadn't fought her in my mind, it would have continued! And its purpose, Captain... was to test me."

Roric took a moment to digest everything he had heard. "So the reason she tested you... was because you have a Law? Understanding a Law is rare, but it's not a unique situation."

"She babbled something about me being a special soul," Aurelion said with a sneer. "That the living things in this world needed to grow stronger for the coming war, and that she could help me. I tell her I might get along well with the invaders, but she just laughed and told me that was impossible, that they would want to kill me with great eagerness."

"Why?" Roric asked.

"I don't know," Aurelion snapped. "She was being overly cooperative, but I didn't ask. I was just trying to get that bitch out of my mind."

Roric rubbed his temples, a deep weariness in his expression. "Brat... I understand why you're angry, but Primordia thinks of us. It protects us."

"Fuck its thoughts," Aurelion shot back.

Roric's gaze hardened. He pointed a finger toward his eye. "Primordia. Did she offer you anything? Did she say anything about... this?"

Aurelion didn't speak. He just stared ahead while his jaw tight.

"So you refused," Roric stated.

"You say that as if I've done something wrong, Captain," Aurelion said.

"You are too stubborn, brat," Roric sighed.

"That bitch was in my mind, Captain, not yours," Aurelion said. "And I will neither believe nor trust a single word that comes out of her mouth. I think I know her well enough now, and if Primordia is involved in something, I would prefer for that thing to be ruined. That is why I mentioned it to Lumi."

He leaned forward slightly, his single golden eye locking onto Roric's. "Think about what I've told you, Captain. Whether she is the consciousness of this world or not... she is not your ally."