The room quaked as the mysterious man looked at Kharon. His emerald eyes had turned a brighter shade of green. As his outstretched arm reached for Kharon, an obstacle appeared in his path.
Aidan was barely keeping himself upright as he moved infront of Kharon. His body emitting a faint, yellow light as he augmented himself with Light Empowerment. As he stood before the menacing man, he chuckled. This situation was eerie similar to how he had shielded Kharon from the Iron-tusked Boar. However, he was facing a tier 3 wielder. A very powerful one who was poised to become a tier 2.
"Move out of the way Aidan. I knew you liked making friends with the wrong crowd, but this..."
"He isn't from the wrong crowd. Let me explain, please."
The man's eyes narrowed as his gaze met Aidan's. The crushing force slowly subsided before the man sat back down. However his gaze remained fixed on Kharon who seemed indifferent to the situation, yet his fidgeting fingers said otherwise.
"You have a minute to explain the situation. No more, no less. If not I will kill your friend before you can even blink."
Aidan cautiously sat back down before he started to recount the events that had happened. Once he was done explaining he asked, "Could you please not report Kharon. He is someone I hold dear and I don't want anything to happen to him."
"I wouldn't tell the association about him. However I will need to enquire about the existence of an unknown path. Maybe we will be able to learn more through him. I suggest that you become powerful and influential enough to speak to the arcane association. If you do so, they wouldn't forcefully take you. Tier 2 should be your minimum goal."
"Thank you Sir Orvus, I wouldn't forget this."
The mysterious man sighed as his gaze shifted towards Aidan.
"I told you to call me Dorn. Anyways, we have prepared everything for your ritual. It's extremely dangerous compared to others, so we have healers on standby. Come this way."
As they left the room, Dorn led the pair to a small, secluded field. There were several people wearing white clothing; one of them held something in their arms. At the center of the field, was a runic circle. It seemed to be made of pure gold. The symbol had sixteen golden blades flaring outward from a sunlit core, and eight larger blades on the outside which were encircled by runes and radiant lines.
Kharon looked at the symbol with a mix of emotions. His eyes slightly narrowing as he stared intently at the runic circle.
'It's just a symbol, but it seems to annoy me. Did I have a rivalry with someone from the path of radiance? Maybe...'
Kharon suddenly felt a little nudge as Aidan whispered in his ear, "Are you ok? You seem, angry. Do you not like the symbol." Aidan then chuckled as he patted Kharon on the back.
"I will be fine, I promise."
"Don't forget what I told you."
Aidan's gaze met Kharon's as he said, "Yes I remember. You will kill me if I die before reaching my goal."
Aidan proceded to give Kharon another pat on the back, as he walked towards the circle. The healers all surrounded the circle while keeping their distance. Kharon suddenly felt nervous as drops of sweat slid down his face. His gaze remained fixed on Aidan, and though his face was a mask of neutrality, his fidgeting fingers betrayed the storm within.
Dorn's slow footsteps got closer and closer until he was standing next to Kharon. He suddenly placed a reassuring hand on Kharon's shoulder as he looked at Aidan.
"Don't be so worried, Aidan is very strong. Both physically and mentally, a little tier 4 ritual wouldn't be the end of him. He is destined for far greater things."
"I know that, but I still can't help but feel nervous for him. If anything were to happen..."
Dorn slightly tightened his grip as he said, "You are a good friend Kharon. I will be counting on you to keep Aidan safe like he keeps you safe..."
As the two men talked Aidan raised his hand and put a thumb up. He then took off his shirt and other pieces of clothing until he was left in his underwear. The healer holding a bundle suddenly tossed part of it into the circle as Aidan caught it. He then threw his clothing outside the circle and put on new pieces of clothing.
"Why does he need new pieces of clothing? What exactly does the ritual entail?"
"You will have to wait and see..."
As Aidan finished putting on the clothes, he once again put up a thumb. The healers took several steps back as Aidan's body was suddenly covered in a bright glow. The intensity of the light seemed to be amplified by the sun as a large pillar of flames engulfed the runic circle.
Kharon's eyes widened as a bone chilling scream resounded around the field. Aidan was getting burnt by his own flames...
Kharon looked at the flames and turned his attention to Dorn, who seemed equally as disturbed but remained unmoving. Kharon's voice suddenly resounded around the field as he said, "What is happening? Don't tell me this is Aidan's ritual, how is he meant to survive that? This is pure insanity!"
As he walked closer to the runic circle, he was suddenly held back by Dorn.
"You can't interfere with his ritual, unless you want Aidan to definitely die. Trust in him."
Kharon reluctantly stayed back as he shouted, "Keep going Aidan, you can do this! I believe in you! I am right here ok? Once you are done, we can go eat something, anything you like!"
He continued to scream words of encouragement for several minutes as his voice became more and more hoarse. The heat from the flames seemed to be getting even hotter; Aidan's voice could no longer be heard coming from the pillar of flames anymore. All that was left was a loud crackle as the flames spat and hissed dangerously, their heat pulsating through the still air like an ominous heartbeat.
As Kharon tried speaking more words, Dorn pulled him back. While giving him a bottle of water, Dorn patted him on the back. This caused Kharon to start violently coughing as he quickly drank the water given to him. His furious gaze met Dorn's who was looking at him with pity.
"Don't harm yourself only because you can't help your friend. It wouldn't do you anything. I doubt Aidan would want you to be hurt when he concluded his ritual."
Kharon stayed silent as he turned back towards the incinerating flames. The heat continued to wash over his body like a tidal wave.
'Can Aidan truly survive this? Is he even alive in there...? No I need to trust him, he wouldn't doubt in my ability to survive, so I shouldn't doubt his.'
Suddenly the pillar of flames grew even more as it went beyond the runic circle. The flames then slowly began to recede as the light and heat intensity diminished. The flames then slowly coalesced into a figure before taking on a more solid appearance. At the center of the circle, a figure stood, unmoving. Kharon suddenly heard Dorn speak as he said, "Finally, I was getting a bit worried."
"What do you mean a bit worried? He could have been dead and you wouldn't have known."
Dorn looked at Kharon before looking away indignantly.
"How dare you suggest that I wasn't aware of what was happening in those flames? You may have been blinded by them, but I could see through them clearly."
Kharon looked at Dorn with a questioning looking, before taking in a deep breath.
"If you knew that Aidan was safe then why didn't you inform me? And why did you only start getting worried now?"
"I did tell you Aidan was safe. I told you to trust in him. Also the ritual needs to happen when the sun at it's brightest, which is at noon. If the sun stops shining as brightly, it could cause complications."
Kharon nodded his head as he looked at the bright figure standing in the circle. After about a minute, the figure began to change. Their once luminous body was turning darker, their molten body was turning into flesh and their features could now be made out. Short blonde hair was the first thing Kharon noticed, followed by a built body. Lastly sharp facial features could be made out. Aidan had succeeded in becoming a tier 4 wielder!
As he was about to make his way to Aidan, Kharon realised something and turned around. After a few seconds he turned back around and saw Aidan standing infront of him in his former clothing. Before he could utter a single word, he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug as he was slightly lifted off the ground.
They stayed that way for a few seconds before Aidan carefully placed him down. Kharon looked at him with a bright smile which was quickly reciprocated.
'Has he always been this good looking? His features are definitely sharper than before. And has he gotten taller? No, I was always this short...'
"I guess you didn't end up dying then."
"I guess I didn't."
Aidan's smile widened even more as he said, "Thank you for your encouraging words Kharon. They really helped me. Though I didn't hear everything you said as my eardrums were burnt. Then my throat and lungs, which meant I couldn't scream. I guess I was temporarily just a floating spirit..."