They had gathered everyone in what was left of the inn they had been staying at.
The front wall still had a hole in it, and a chunk of the roof had been destroyed by a piece of flying road from where Zilla had burst free from the sewers.
Aiden would have liked to say everyone was okay.
Frankly, they were not.
Beatris had already bled out a lot when she enhanced him during their match, only to then go running off to stabilize a magic circle.
Liora had been the focuser of that magic circle, and even now Aiden could see a thin glowing blue under her skin where mana had been forced through her so harshly that it still lingered. Even small movements probably hurt her right now.
Selene was tapped out of mutation and would probably be unable to move tomorrow from soreness alone, much less the bruises from being shot and attacked by Pip and Jackson during their match.
Jax and Thalia had not been under as much direct strain as everyone else, but they had been in charge of grabbing people while Selene and Aiden recovered, so they were tired and drained.
Close to the rest of them, if not just as much.
Even now, Aiden could still feel the uncomfortable heat from where the Revolution Core had been burning and blistering him from the inside out. It felt like every heartbeat spread more pain through his veins.
That, combined with his broken glasses, left everything blurry and hard to see.
Which only made things worse.
They all sat for a moment as the silence stretched.
Outside, people had begun returning to the city after the battle's aftermath.
Families returned to destroyed homes.
Those who could not find their loved ones prayed they would not find them dead.
And yet, they were not.
While nobody was sure what had happened, that last green pulse had fixed wounds and brought those who had recently died back from the edge.
It was something only a high-level healer could do.
But considering how fast the boy who fought Zilla had been healing, there must have been one who saved everyone.
As they sat, Aiden heard what sounded like a small building noise.
Almost like chittering.
He turned to see both Jax and Liora shaking where they sat, their eyes shadowed.
Then they both threw their heads back in an almost manic laugh.
Aiden turned to the others.
They only returned his confused look.
"Oh man!" Jax said. "Can you believe it? They could take that thing on and even kill it. What level do you think they were?"
"If you think that's good, you should have seen the people guarding the circle," Liora said, her voice bright with exhausted hysteria. "One of them was manipulating raw aether. They turned dirt from a solid to a liquid to trap a bunch of monsters that were sent after us. I had no idea such a thing was even possible!"
Aiden was not sure what it was.
Maybe the energy in their voices.
Maybe the infectious glee they seemed to be spewing out.
But Beatris began to chuckle.
"Don't forget the crab guy," Beatris said. "He threw a punch so fast it sounded like a cannon and launched the monsters through the woods like they were the cannonballs."
"You all weren't even in the city," Thalia said, joining in. "But we got to see Alaster go nova firsthand. You should have seen him. He was like a blazing star."
She paused.
"Though tell me more about this crab. In detail."
Aiden felt a small smile grow on his face.
He chuckled.
"I got to meet my uncles," he said. "Apparently one is a giant and the other is a sword. Makes me wonder what in the world my grandpa is getting up to these days."
"N-Not only that," Selene said softly, "but we all survived and are doing well."
As they all sat there, new smiles on their faces that had not been there before, they looked back toward the door.
Or at least, what Aiden hoped was the door.
It might have been a tall window.
Everything was still blurry.
Outside, one could expect people to be downtrodden.
Sad.
Broken.
But people were happy.
They embraced loved ones and began finding what remained.
Apparently, a high-level necromancer had been sent by Frigund to begin helping with the rebuilding efforts.
Life would go on.
The city would be rebuilt.
People would go to work in a few days.
And the city would move once more.
Thalia held out her hand.
Her bracelet glowed, and Sir Oinks-a-Lot came out.
He began to strut, a small dagger held in his mouth like he expected to be pulled out only as a last resort weapon to deal with danger.
He whined and spun, looking for the threat.
Thalia hugged him.
"Sooooo," Thalia said, "what do you all think are the chances we get to do another round of the Plate Games?"
Everyone turned to her with a confused look.
Jax asked, "Why is that your question here?"
"What?" Thalia asked. "We needed two more rounds' worth of points to get third place, and we were totally winning that last one before the attack of the kaiju."
"What's a kaij—"
Jax asked, but Aiden stopped paying attention.
Instead, he listened as Will and the other voice he had begun to refer to as Thrive argued inside his head, causing a slow but building headache.
"We don't have to tell her anything," Will yelled. "Aiden is playing off the effects of the poison well enough, and we can figure out a cure during the next leg of our journey. We literally have a sample for pete's sake"
Across from him stood Thrive.
While Will seemed like a perfect copy of Aiden aside from not wearing armor, Thrive looked like how Aiden had back in Hopestone.
Alchemy robes instead of armor.
No spear on his back.
"It is going to become a liability," Thrive snapped back, "especially for adventurers, where things like that will get people killed. Plus, how do you expect Aiden to ever be trusted again if he hides something like this?"
Hearing both sides, Aiden focused back into the moment.
The others were still talking.
"Hey, guys," Aiden said.
The conversations stopped.
"We still have the issue of the Seed of Betrayal."
Everyone turned back to him.
Even without his glasses, Aiden could see how Selene refused to meet his eyes.
She stared at the table instead.
"It's not bad," Aiden said. "Mainly because my blood being heated by the Revolution Core might have messed with its effect. But there is still an amount of unconscious fear when I look at Selene."
Selene stood.
She still refused to meet his eyes.
"I-I understand," Selene said. "I want to thank all of you for your help with everything and your willingness to work with me. Without you, I wouldn't have been cured."
Her voice trembled.
"I will be going now."
She began to walk toward the door.
The others watched her, a mix of sadness and more on their faces.
Aiden stood.
"Hey," he said. "Where are we going? I'll drive."
Selene turned back to him.
Her expression was unclear with his vision this blurry, but Aiden could guess she was confused.
"B-But the Seed of Betrayal."
Aiden made a show of scoffing as he crossed his arms.
"Oh, please," he said. "I cured the condition you struggled with for years in half a year. What's another half a year to fix this?"
He gave her a small smile.
"Might even get a better time now that we have nicer tools."
Selene did not move.
"Besides," Aiden said, "I know for a fact you aren't a monster. Or even a bad person."
He tilted his head.
"So I ask again. Where are we going? I'll drive."
Selene turned away.
For a moment, she did not move.
Then, in a small but hopeful voice, she said, "W-Well, I had been hoping to head back to Tessegog to share the good news with my mom and brothers."
Aiden turned to Jax.
Or maybe Beatris.
One of them.
Roughly Jax-shaped and Jax-sized.
"Well, team lead?"
"Over here," Jax said. "We have got to get you new glasses."
Aiden adjusted his gaze.
Jax chuckled.
"And I don't see why not. It could be a fun trip."
The others stood.
Thalia, Selene, and Beatris began making their way up what remained of the stairs.
Liora said, "We'll grab your bags. Bring the A.T.V. out front."
Jax and Aiden began heading for the door.
Aiden nudged him.
"Dude, did you have to ruin the moment by pointing out I was looking in the wrong direction?"
Jax chuckled.
"Yeah," Jax said. "Like your constant squinting wasn't making it weird. You're scrunching your face up like you're mid-dump."
The two of them bickered all the way back to the A.T.V.
Even as they pulled it around and began the next leg of their journey, Aiden found himself thinking back to the start of all of this in Hopestone.
For a moment, he could imagine himself in his old robes as the people who would soon become his team arrived in the city.
And in the far distance, Beatris ran around as a confused fox with a blue screen.
A small smile spread across Aiden's face.
I am glad I was still so curious about adventure.
END OF SEASON 1
Author's Note:
Thank you to everyone who has read up to this point.
This story has been a passion project of mine, and I have enjoyed writing it. I hope you have enjoyed reading it.
The next part of The Curious Alchemist will be up in the coming months, following the crew into the next arc in Tessegog as they deal with monsters, trials, comedic moments, and a very overprotective family.