In such a situation, you have two options.
To lie.
Or speak the truth.
None of those options is good or easy.
But choosing one is inevitable in the end.
But which was better, or rather, which was the least bad out of the two?
He could just lie, but that would lead to the witch not trusting him.
Which can't lead to anything good.
Maybe even to either his or her death.
But by lying about his weird behaviour, he can continue as a normal person in this world for a little longer.
If he told the truth, then what happened next he couldn't control.
It all depended on the witch.
How would she react to her life being fake?
Though as much as he hated not having control over the situation, he also knew that telling the truth could do him good.
Maybe if he twisted the truth a little, he could get her to help him.
So in the end, the best option is none.
It's twisting the truth to your liking.
So that's what he did.
He just wasn't so good at it as he thought.
[...]
"You really are a fool."
The witch crossed her arms, not believing a single word that came out of his mouth.
"So you're telling me, you aren't from this world, and you only came here to save the world?"
Meanwhile, it wasn't entirely a lie; most of it was.
He wasn't from this world, but at the same time, he was. Just the future.
And while he wasn't here to save the world, it was probably what he had to do to leave. So in the end...
He more or less told the truth?
Aether nodded, staying true to his story.
The witch sighed, her mind blown by such a revelation.
But to Aether's surprise, she took it quite well. Maybe it was because of her past, or something else, but she didn't seem so concerned.
"Normally, I wouldn't believe you. But you not being from this world does explain your lack of essence threads. By the way, my name's Avrie."
Aether smiled, pleased with the outcome.
He was also quite proud of pulling it out. Even if it wasn't entirely because of him.
"Aether. Say, Avrie, you wouldn't mind telling me how that monster of yours is moving?"
Avrie stared at him, confused about whom he was talking about. But as she saw his eyes linger on her trusty pet, she felt her face change from his absurdity.
"He's no monster! He's an angel!"
Aether crossed his arms, not acknowledging a word.
"Yeah, whatever. Are you going to answer?"
The witch sighed, baffled by his immaturity. It made her consider the future of her world if someone like him was really her to save it.
"It's because of my affinity. You probably figured that it allows me to see essence threads. And with my ability, I manipulate those from non-living objects."
Aether's face brightened, merrily surprised by her abilities.
"So you used your ability to alter your frozen cat's threads to make her move."
Avrie shook her head, denying his answer.
"No? While animals are frozen, they are still alive. And plus, they don't have essence flowing through them. That's why they're frozen in the first place."
The latter caught him off guard.
While he didn't know that animals didn't have the same blessings as humans due to him not meeting many, except rats and insects, it wasn't something that surprised him.
But the fact that it is the reason their frozen was unexpected news, but very much welcomed.
'So is the fact that we have essence coursing through us, the reason we are not frozen. Did the figure in the description mean that the evil of the world is the awakened?'
Did it also mean that at first, when time was frozen, the children who had yet to awaken were frozen?
It was a pretty horrific thing. Being frozen forever.
And it wasn't like they could awaken anymore.
So that was it, they were stuck forever.
Aether shrugged.
"And how was I supposed to know that. I'm not from this world, remember?"
The witch staggered a bit, embarrassed.
"Yeah... I was just testing you."
But she quickly regained her cool, not trying to let him see her vulnerable side.
"I created an artificial core and placed it inside him, with it, he has essence flowing through him, not as much as us humans... but more than you."
She narrowed her eyes and coldly asked.
"So, how are you not frozen?"
Aether smiled, trying to hide that her question caught him off guard.
"Because I'm a fool. Not even the queen bothered to freeze me in time."
Avrie didn't respond, and so Aether's answer hung in the awkward silence.
"Fine, when I came to this world, I was given a path and two abilities."
Really, it was only one, not two.
The witch leaned forward, their faces being inches away, perplexed from hearing about him gaining a path.
"You did? What is it!"
Aether turned his face, not enjoying the lack of personal space.
"I've said it too many times already, what don't you get? I'm just a fool. And... could you please back away, you're too close."
After realizing how close they were, she quickly backed away.
But she was still very interested in his answer.
"So what is it? A fool, Just a Fool, The Fool? You said it in many ways."
"The fool, there, are you happy? And I'm not sure what it does."
He didn't want to say it; it hurt his pride to even call himself a fool, but to call himself The Fool.
'I used to be a prince, god damn it!'
"Now that you have learned this, are you going to help me?"
The witch tilted her head.
"With what?"
The Fool smiled mischievously, as if planning something so absurd it was unheard of. And it really was.
"To save the world."
Avrie broke up into laughter. And while she seemed very amused, he wasn't very fond of her reaction.
"A Fool and A Witch saving the world, you got to be kidding me."
She paused, then, and a small grin curled up on her lips.
"Call me crazy, but why not? The world is mad, so what's the harm?"
[...]
In a frozen wasteland, a strange boy whose blue eyes looked like sapphire, and his hair like gold was navigating alongside a small witch with a pointy hat. Her onyx hair brought attention to her eyes, which could only be described as a pair of pure emeralds.
Now, what they were searching for was a little more complicated.
A way to save the world.
...
Aether had told Avrie about his findings in the bunkers, and as he expected, she didn't know anything about the researchers or their plan.
So she was no help in finding the rest.
But she knew the outskirts much better than he, which meant that he didn't have to rely on the shadows, and finally had a human companion.
And while that meant his abilities were weaker due to his bane.
It didn't really harm him much.
At the moment, by what she told him, they were going to a town in hopes of finding answers, but also to gather supplies.
At first, Aether didn't understand why they had already gotten some from Avrie's hut.
But she knew something he didn't.
That being how far away each town is from each other.
They would need more food just to get from one town to another, but search for some hidden bunkers.
But food and water weren't everything they needed.
They made a deal.
That they would search the outskirts for two weeks.
After that, they would finally go to the inner rings and find the ones inside there.
So they needed protection for when they did.
Outskirt kids aren't exactly welcomed inside the walls, and so they needed something to protect themselves.
Avrie also said she needed to get some stuff for herself.
Aether didn't oblige, of course, after all, she was the one with the money either way.
But it did make him wonder how she was going to buy everything.
From food and water, to wood to make fires, to knives, and whatever else she wanted to buy.
How could a witch who lived her life in a small hut inside the wastelands have so much money?
Was she secretly rich?
So he decided to ask her how she would be able to buy everything. But he didn't exactly get the answer he was expecting.
"Hm, what do you mean, how will we buy everything. It's quite clear?"
Avrie paused, turning her head to him with a bright smile on her face.
"We won't buy anything. Who do you think I am to have that much money? Instead, of buying, we'll steal everything!"