Requiem for an Aberrant Chapter 11: Chapter 11- Dinner

Read chapter 11 of Requiem for an Aberrant by TheJestersGambit on NovelPedia.

Cole still hadn’t fallen asleep. Yellow wisps of Essentia spiralled around his fingertips before dispersing back into the air. He forced the construct of another spear to collapse just before completion. He wasn’t so rude to wake Ariana and Aegis beside him. ‘ My manifestations could do with more stability… ’ Cole thought, watching the fading tendrils. ‘ It’s like my Essentia loses confidence before completion. Spears alone won’t be enough forever, I need more. ’ Essentia constructs were rarely random. The form they took reflected the user, their identity gradually shaping the direction of their manifestations over time. The five Archetypes were simple enough to understand: Aggressor, Controller, Defender, Supporter, and Specialist. Cole’s Essentia had always leaned toward aggression, possessing that instinct to pierce through whatever stood before him. Still, Archetypes weren’t fixed. Just as a person could change, so too could the shape of their manifestations. The translucent runes of the Soulgrid appeared in front of him. [Essentia Archetype Identified!] [Archetype: Aggressor] [Essentia Class calibrating...] [Essentia Class: Undetermined] His eyes lingered on the final line. “Designation…” Unlike Archetypes, which broadly categorised the behaviour of one’s Essentia, an Essentia Class was deeply personal. If Traits represented the signature emotion tied to an Essentia user, then an Essentia Class represented the path that trait would eventually carve into their existence. The runes dissolved soon after, leaving behind only the quiet contemplation of a single boy seated beside a snoring prince and a sleep-talking fugitive. Cole stretched his legs, peering through the window of the small cottage and seeing the garden now cloaked in silver-violet moonlight. In the clearing outside, villagers gathered around a long table pieced together from splintered scraps. It nearly sagged under bowls of steaming broth and cuts of meat as lanterns swung from crooked poles above, their glow turning the food into a golden fairytale. He moved to wake up Ariana and Aegis still curled onto the mats, only for the soft knock that rattled the door to do it for him. “Dinner’s ready!” Leo called. Aegis sat up with a grunt, rubbing the sleep from his neck whilst Ariana blinked awake, frowning at the window like she’d envisioned something better. Cole offered them each a hand, pulling them to their feet. Old and young sat shoulder to shoulder, passing battered bowls and cracked mugs between them like family. The air smelled moist and of something faintly sweet that made Cole’s stomach turn instead of settle, despite him liking sweet treats. He sat beside Aegis, who made no effort to hide the way he stared at the broth as if it were poison. Ariana sat across from them, her hand on her knee like she was ready to stand the moment she needed to. Leo hovered near her elbow, eyes glancing between the broth and her face, cheeks flushed pink when she met his gaze. A bowl landed in front of Cole. He sniffed it once, then set it down untouched. Quietly, he fished into his pack and cracked open one of his last tins of beans under the table. The snap of the tin’s seal echoed far too loud. Ariana flinched so badly she nearly knocked her bowl over, and Aegis shot him a glare that said ‘are you trying to get us killed?’. “Not hungry?” the elder asked. He sat at the head of the table, close enough that Cole could see how his eyes watered in the lantern light. They were kind eyes, but they didn’t seem to blink often. Cole forced a laugh, raising the tin just high enough. “Diarrhoea,” he lied. “Broth’s too runny, bread’s too tough. I hope that’s alright.” To his surprise, the elder shrugged, sipping from a rough wooden cup. “Eat what you trust, boy. The gorge takes enough from us. We don’t force more from each other.” Relief coursed through him, Ariana, and Aegis. Cole set the tin on the table, stabbing at the beans with a bent fork. Across from him, Ariana dug out her