Chapter 419: A fun challenge

"Just what are you exactly, Aiden?"

Echoes of Drake's inquiry reverberated through the dark tunnels, causing the air to turn cold and tense in an instant yet again.

Drake kept focusing his attention on his friend's, trying to pry deeper into his soul through those exotic, golden eyes of his.

Truth be told, he always wondered what was up with his unique, golden visual sensory organs. Such a unique look, shape, and color wasn't something he saw or heard about before. At first, when they met, he thought that Aiden was probably from one of the faraway desert-covered regions of the continent. His tanned, bronze-like skin tone, added with his long, silky, matte black hair, was a surefire sign of him being a traveler from some faraway land. 

Still, the eyes were always the most unique, most characteristic, most defining trait of this friend of his. Those deep, golden irises, the strange gleam it exerted whenever Aiden was stressed out, or ready to tackle an obstacle… Slowly, but surely it made Drake doubt his initial speculations. 

Back in the orc camp, it grew to a point where he slowly started questioning everything he thought he knew. Was he even human? If not, what was he? If so, was he a long-lost member of some hidden family? That strange majestic presence he radiated towards the monstrous creatures that followed him made him believe that this might be the case.

Now, after witnessing yet another miraculous, inexplicable trait from him, he could no longer hold back. He wanted to know, he needed to know which one was true.

Aiden didn't respond at first but kept his gaze matching his friends. The calm, relaxed, collected smile never left his expression as their gazes continued their silent battle.

The air around them was tense, the atmosphere at the party was rather awkward, especially for Scarlet. On one side, she would always stand behind her brother, not to mention she was also rather interested in the answer to his question.

However, on the other hand, she didn't want to fall out with their only friends. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she finally felt like she belonged somewhere. She was no longer the slave, the chained-up child gladiator. She was no longer alone, she had people that she genuinely cared about, and loved, cherished.

"Brother… please don't…" In the end, she could only weakly mutter as she looked towards his stern-looking brother. Unfortunately, her meek attempt was ultimately ignored, as Drake was laser-focused on the enigmatic youth in front of him. 

Still, although the atmosphere was heavy, and from the outside, it looked ready to blow up, it was actually much different for the two young boys. Even though his gaze was stern, and his disposure solemn, Drake didn't actually carry any hostile or ill intent towards Aiden. He truly considered him as his friend, probably the only one in this world, but he just couldn't push down and swallow his burning desire to understand Aiden. 

By now, he could understand most of his actions and even stand behind most of them, even if it slightly hurt his pride. Still, before he could fully place his trust in him, and make a decision to walk the path together with him, he needed some answers, he needed some of Aiden's secrets to be shared in their group.

"Who are you, Aiden? Please answer me, don't hide it any longer. What is your full name, which family are you from?" He asked again, breaking the ensuing silence after about a minute of their staring contest.

This time, Aiden's lips slowly curved higher. Still, he refused to speak, but rather, he stretched out his right arm. 

A moment later, the ebony blade of Rygintarth materialized out of thin air, its sharp tip grazing the stony pathway.

Whilst this action shocked and startled the rest of the group, Drake understood his intention. Slowly, his solemn look also eased up, curling into a small, expectant smirk.

His right hand slowly reached for Mort's hilt resting in its sheath at his left side. His fingers clenching its embellished, ornate design. 

As it was unsheathed from its holster, its beautiful silvery shine glowed matching its master's anticipation.

Raising the blade in front of his chest at a 45-degree diagonal angle, Drake's grin continued creeping higher and higher. He nodded towards Aiden, as he reaffirmed his grope over his artifact weapon.

"No cheating! We fight with our desire and skill only!" He exclaimed, giving the rules of the duel, upon which Aiden lightly nodded. 

"We fight until the first wound! If I win, you will tell me everything I want to know!" He added, laying down the rules of their upcoming fight so that the rest of their group could judge over.

Once again, Aiden nodded, not saying a single word, but only tightened his grip over Ryg's hilt, whilst still keeping the huge blade pointed towards the ground.

"And what if Aiden wins? What is the bet on his side?" Scarlet asked out, looking slightly worried, unsure of how she should react. Should he stand between the boys and try to stop this seemingly pointless duel? Or perhaps, should she support his brother and stand at his side?

Being worried and also confused about this whole matter, her eyes wandered over the other two girls in the group, and was baffled seeing how calm and nonchalant they both were. Like before, Lily simply kept playing with her two dogs, with Galina joined up with her. Neither of them seemed to be bothered or focused on the two men at all, instead of finding solace and seemingly more interest with the two war hounds.

"Yeah, Aiden. What do you want in case you miraculously come out as the victor of this fight?" Drake asked, throwing a light jab at his way as well.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Aiden's lips slowly parted. He tilted his head sideways, looking at his silver-haired friend with a surprised gaze.

"What do I want? I thought you already knew?" 

Drake's smile only curved higher at his response, giving a non-verbal response and confirmation to Aiden's words. 

In the next moment, knowing that Scarlet was still bewildered about the matter, Aiden's gaze slowly shifted, looking at the worried, concerned redhead with his usual calm outlook.

"What is it? What do you want, Aiden? Don't be so cryptic you two!" Feeling left out, frustration quickly began to eat away at her patience, Scarlet exclaimed as their eyes met.

"Also, Is there really a need for this farce? Why can't you guys just talk it out? Why do you guys need to fight?!"

"Don't bother, Scarlet, just let them be. Our brothers need this, I can feel it, and I'm sure you can also." Without looking up, Lily responded from the side, causing Scarlet to avert her gaze and click her tongue in frustration. In the end, she could only sigh and walk towards the girls and just join them.

"These two idiots…" She muttered under her breath as she walked over. Her face contorting into a pout, she refused to look at the boys.

A light chuckle escaped Aiden's lips, he enjoyed the moment a bit more, before his eyes shifted back on his opponent.

"If I win, Drake will give me his unconditional trust without question. He will stand behind me, no matter what happens in the future or where our path will take us. He will turn from a simple friend… to a brother"