King Of Limbo

Morning soon came and Aron who didn't need sleep had remained awake just staring at the horizon waiting on the first streak of light.

After it came he turned his head towards Esmeralda who slept near the campfire soundly. After they passed the areas with dense mana, Aron knew their journey would be smoother but he still took caution and his time traveling hence it took longer to reach this far.

"Wake up." Aron woke up the sleeping Esmeralda from her slumber unceremoniously before telling her they needed to set off immediately.

Normally she'd have complained about not being able to take a bath or even rinse her mouth but she had long grown accustomed to Aron's savage ways as she'd call it.

Aside from the dark clouds looming over their heads, there journey towards Hazenloft was peaceful and they arrived at the port city around evening.

However once there they found a large number of people and carriages lined up at the gates. The line ran far and some settlements could even be seen set up in some parts indicating just how long some of those people waited.

"That line is immense! We'll be standing there for days..." Esmeralda's once joyous expression from arriving quickly sank when she saw the long running line from the hill where they stood.

Aron on the other hand didn't seem bothered by it. "I didn't think a person of your standing would stand in line." He commented as if mocking her for the complaint she made. "I don't have my family's insignia on me, it acted as protection in the ruin and broke after saving my life. Without proof of identity I'm no better than a commoner." She explained before clicking her tongue in irritation and stomping her foot angrily.

"Well then when you get back to your family, make sure you reach a status where people don't need to ask for proof of your identity. Let's go." Aron advised suddenly before walking forward, not to the back of the line but the very front.

"Hey you! Where do you think you're going? Back of the line buddy we've all been here for awhile even nobles stand in line!" A dissatisfied adventurer saw Aron making his way to the front with Esmeralda in toll so he quickly expressed his stance.

Seeing that Aron was armed, he didn't foolishly approach him but instead hoped that people would join him in his protest. It was how numerous nobles ended up lining up when they tried to skip ahead.

And just like he planned, numerous people began to voice their dissatisfaction towards Aron's actions to the point that the guards noticed and got ready to intervene. He wouldn't be the first haughty person who tried to skip the line after all.

"Then stop me." Aron voiced and unleashed his domineering beast aura along with its fluctuating mana.

Bang!

Immediately he did so the entire line was disturbed as many people backed far away from Aron, feeling suffocated. Those who were augmenters or pro efficient in magic to some extent were able to maintain their stances but the fear they felt was immense.

However this didn't seem like enough as the guards looked ready to attack him. It was then that he gripped his axe with smirk on his face as the runes on it began to light up.

What followed next shook the entirety of the city...literally. Aron had suddenly lifted Esmeralda up by the legs with one arm before swinging his battle axe, aiming it at the ground.

*bang!*

A loud thud resounded as his axe made contact with the ground, sending numerous tremors in all directions that covered a radius of roughly three kilometers.

Cracks appeared in part of the city's walls and buildings made of light material, numerous people within felt the tremor and feared it might be another eruption causing panic to build.

But those who could see Aron were even more in panic. A human capable of causing an entire city to rumble was an existence of great power that couldn't be found often in the isolated north.

"You finally made it!" A friendly voice echoed near the gates while Aron made his way there as no one present dared to stand in his way anymore.

The voice belonged to none other than Jin who stood waiting with a grin on his face. Soon numerous other faces appeared behind him. Claudia, Xavier, Jagu, Evanora and members of his faction all appeared at the gate with looks of relief.

"Tsk, it was obvious he wouldn't die from just that." Jagu commented as if irritated and walked away back into the city.

"What's all this?" Aron arrived at the gate and asked with a brow raised. He had already told Claudia to wait for him in the port city of Hazenloft so his coming here shouldn't have been all that surprising.

"Once the main peak erupted, everyone got worried. Especially when Lady Rose and Evanora came yesterday without knowing wether you're alive or not." Claudia explained, looking as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"I see, let's settle down and I'll explain the details of what happened while you update me on the current events. Oh and have someone escort Esmeralda of the house of Hoffenheim to the city lord's estate." Aron nodded before saying this which caught everyone's attention.

It was no secret that the whereabouts of Esmeralda where unknown while many rumors that she died had long since spread. Seeing her well and good in Aron's arm was a rather strange sight.

"Hmph! We can finally part ways!" Esmeralda felt the gazes on her which made her feel very uncomfortable and caused her to hop off Aron's arm without delay.

"Tell your family to come bearing my payment." Aron reminded the already frowning Esmeralda while shedding light on why they were together.

.....

Aron soon settled in the city and briefed Claudia and the others about the events he faced such as the beast encounter, empty ruins and also the changes he noticed slowly befalling the north.

He didn't go into much detail with them as they wouldn't contribute in any way on the matter. He did however leave out the part of finding a strange language within the ruin.

That information was only shared with Lady Rose when they met later that night in her room where they both exchanged information.

"Interesting, to think the ruins would house only mana beasts. I'm curious as to what that facility was before whatever befell the old era." Lady Rose muttered while stroking her chin in thought with her eyes fixated on a parchment depicting the carvings Aron saw.

"We shall probably know after we decipher those books you brought along. Maybe this carving means something as well?" Aron inquired but Rose immediately shook her head.

"It only says 'The Forsaken'... it's written rather crudely too in olden Longerin, which seems to have been a less common language back in the olden era as very few places have it, even ruins." Lady Rose explained and handed back the parchment to Aron who seemed less than impressed to find out the message hidden in the carvings was useless.

"Then our only hope now is the books and beasts. How troublesome." Aron sat on a nearby chair and sighed out loud. His only concern was finding a limbo crack at the very least but it was proving to be quite the task.

"Patience Aron, You and I will both attain what we seek." Rose lectured in her usual cold and strict tone in what looked to be an attempt to raise Aron's spirits. "I'm in no rush, it's just annoying having come up largely empty." Aron explained but Lady Rose shook her head.

"That may not be so, although a good number of creatures have been captured, Lady Uva and I determined that they were high tier beasts that escaped as well...possibly very intelligent too. If the books give us no answers then we'll catch a beast. And if that fails..."

"We'll keep trying." Aron stood up and completed her statement, bringing a small almost unnoticeable smile to her face. "Oh and as for your strange little follower, you may want to remove the runes I placed on her preventing sleep like you asked. Goodnight." Lady Rose reminded before gesturing Aron to leave so she could continue working on deciphering the books she acquired.

Meanwhile Aron only now remembered the precaution he had taken with Evanora and sighed.

'Let's use this time to find a more concrete solution to her...unique problem.' Aron thought before walking towards the room assigned to Evanora in the lodge Claudia had reserved for many days now.