Kapitel 8: Chapter 7 - A Choice to Decide the Future

Cory had not been happy but the moment she saw the look on Aramis' face, she decided to let him be for the time being. She was completely aware of the check-up and the mental toll it took on her younger brother. Instead they rode in silence, giving Aramis time to think about all that had happened to him.

The dreams he'd been having were quite literal in every sense of the world. Nyx was considered the Goddess of all Beasts, she was the enemy of humanity. Yet she was the one who was here to offer him a chance to become as great as he was always meant to be. Why hadn't Eos done the same? Why had Eos taken away his powers in the first place? His desperation for his old life grew as the horses pulled the carriage through the thick snow. He wanted to back in the Capital. His magic had made him who he was, it made him feel...like he was somebody. Any logical person would reason that dealing with a being like Nyx was unwise and he may lose everything in the process. But what did logic matter if his life ended up amounting to nothing when it came to its eventual conclusion? What did logic matter to a boy who wanted his magic back more than anything in the world?

The scene around him began to change and that was when Aramis looked up. He finally noticed that they weren't travelling back to the estate, they were going farther away from the city than that. Where was Cory bringing him? Looking at Aramis' expression of confusion, she finally spoke for the first time.

"We're heading to the Rider's headquarters. Newly built. You'd be one of the first to see what it's like, not everybody has this opportunity." He knew about the construction project Cory had been involved in. She'd been the one to design the base's new layout and it had taken up almost all the time she'd been in the Lost to finish it. He didn't doubt Cory's genius but he wasn't really expecting much from the Riders, let alone their headquarters.

He was wrong. His mouth hung agape as he scooted closer to the window at his side. The place was huge. It looked so futuristic, Aramis had to take a few minutes to take it all in. The buildings were silver and white, fitting in perfectly with the landscape. They shot high up as far as the eye could see, all of them connected by different pathways and railroads that were packed with people hard at work.

He'd always been told the Riders were the heroes of the Lost but he'd always just imagined some local sheriff's office that did their job well. This was like a military operation, nothing like he would have ever pictured in his head.

The gates swung open and Cory smiled towards guards who waved back. The deeper they rode into the Rider's HQ, the more he saw. There were somehow fountains that seemed to be gushing with...moving ice? There were flying transport vehicles, carrying supplies to where they needed to go. There were soldiers training in the open fields, all of them working as one.

They knew what they wanted to do. The amazement soon turned to a bittersweet feeling. They were living life to the fullest. They were a community driven for the overall success of this operation. They all had a sense of duty to protect...their home. This wasn't his home though. The Capital was his home.

After alighting the carriage, Cory immediately set some ground rules. It took a while to get all of it out because it was as if seemed that everyone knew her, because she waved and nodded at least 20 times before they even got into the lift.

First, he would not cause any trouble here like he usually did. Second, he would not be let out of her sight unless he needed to take a piss. Third, he would stay in her office till he finished all the overdue assignments that he owed his teachers after skipping so many days of school.

That was how Aramis found himself sitting behind a wooden desk with his textbooks strewn around him. He gave up at hour two. His mind felt foggy and his focus had faded to the point where he could work no longer. Despite his instructions to stay put, he decided to find Cory. He wanted some social interaction and he was starting to get hungry. She'd said her meetings would end by sunset and it was already dark outside by now.

As he walked through the rooms, he finally heard her voice. The doors were half-closed with bright light spilling out of it. She was telling a few of her colleagues that she would be able to finish the new housing development projects in the next six months at the latest. He slowly made his way to the door and peeked inside, trying not to be noticed.

What he saw was Cory smiling more than he'd seen her smile in a long while. His heart stopped. She was laughing now, telling them the current energy source was stupid. She was...happy. She liked her job. She...liked it here. He stepped back and he felt more alone than ever.

Aramis decided the best thing he could do was get some fresh air. He ignored the biting frost and pulled his jacket tighter around his body. He sat on the railings of the rooftops, watching the world go by around him. He'd thought coming here would automatically mean he'd have a miserable time. He'd felt guilty for bringing Cory, Liam and Saxton along with him because he thought being banished to the Lost was as good as death.

He'd been wrong all along. It turned it out it was really just him. Cory and Saxton...they loved being here. It was because they knew what they wanted to do and they knew they wanted in life. They had a talent that made them...them. What did he have to offer? He watched from up above at all these people working together for the sake of this village. All of them, perhaps not in perfect harmony, knew what they had to do and they wanted to do it. They wanted to do it.

Aramis had been so distant and angry because he didn't want to accept the fact that it was his fault he didn't belong here. He was finally starting to understand that. He wanted to be back in the Capital where he did fit in. Going back to the Capital would make him as happy as Cory and Saxton were now .He wanted to find his way back to it but...he had nothing to give right now. Not yet at least.

His grip on the metal railings tightened. His heart began to pound. His Magic was him. He was nothing without it. So when given the chance to get it back, he'd sacrifice everything because it was worth everything to him. He opened his eyes and finally said the words he'd been wanting to say all this while.

"Nyx. I call upon you, Goddess of Night."

There was silence. Aramis sat there, had it really just all been a delusion? That's when he realized the snow falling around him had begun to swirl around him, taking form in the shape of a woman. The amount of magical power that had begun to gather was immense and Aramis realized he was being lifted up into the air. He let go of the railing tentatively as the woman in black appeared before him, formed from the ice crystals that fell from the sky.

"You offered me a deal." He whispered, his voice dry. If he fell from this height, even his body wouldn't survive that. He hoped Nyx wouldn't stop doing whatever she was doing for him to levitate.

"I can give you what you want. But would you do anything for it? Would you risk it all for the sake of this purpose? You understand if you choose this pa-"

"I would. I would do fucking anything to get it back. Even if my life was the price, I accept." He interrupted, his gaze as firm as steel. He didn't have the time to hesitate any longer. He didn't want to give himself any more time to back out of the deal. He was going to do this.

"So be it, Prince of Snow. Take my hand. You are now my champion. Do not make me regret my choice. Whether you get you want...that depends on you, dear. I can only wish that the Fates' good will upon you."

She held out her hand. Within it, a small stone that glowed with raw magical power.

He took it.

This was his chance to make his life right again. He wanted it more than anything. He wanted it as bad as he wanted to breathe. If it was up to him, then he would succeed no matter the cost.

The last thing he saw before she vanished was a toothy smile, unlike her usual cold demeanor.

The hope bursting from within him soon turned to immense panic. Before he could do go on this journey set out for him, he was now falling through the air and to his untimely death. No wonder she'd been smiling like that. He didn't think it was very funny though

Not off to the greatest start, Aramis would have to admit.