Rebirth of the Disgraced Noble-Chapter 98: Awakening and Memory Loss?

The air in the room had this intangible pressure to it as Aden and the boy locked eyes with each other. Lorelei and Zero stood unconcernedly at the edge of the door, each of them having thoughts of their own.

After a solid minute of staring at each other, the boy questioned, "Did you hear me?"

Aden remained unresponsive, his expression was unreadable, but there was a hint of something deep within his dim–blue eyes.

'Zero, Lorelei,' he called out telepathically.

Their backs straightened as his voice rang in his head, and they responded in a timely and synchronized fashion.

'We are at your service, Master.'

A moment of silence stretched between Aden and his Vassals. The Eldest still stared at Aden in confusion, and at this point, even the Vassals were getting confused on what was happening.

A soft sigh could be heard by all, but the words that followed were solely directed to Zero and Lorelei.

'What do I do?'

Another bout of silence followed. The air had grown quite awkward at this point. The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance and rested his head on the edge of the window to stare at the horizon. The Vassals in the ring had been silent ever since and strangely enough, the Entity hadn't said a word.

'Well?!' Aden pressed.

'Oh... uhm... I don't really know much about Resonance Awakenings since I was already born an awakened, so maybe Zero could help?'

Sensing the question being shot at him, Zero quickly replied. 'It would be most optimal if he is isolated and made aware of his awakening. Master could also instruct him on what to do next using his experience on the subject.'

Aden ruffled his full hair a bit as he covertly avoided eye contact with the boy. The thought of instructing him on what to do did cross his mind in his microseconds of thought, but unless he was constantly fighting against colossal beasts in a jungle that could kill you for breathing wrong, he didn't have any other way to help.

'Zero,' Aden thought, his internal voice sounding more stressed than it did during the blast. 'I can't throw him into a monster-infested Jungle, can I?'

'...Correct, Master,' Zero replied with what could almost be interpreted as a digital shrug. 'However, the boy's resonance is Kinetic Friction. He is generating heat through the sheer discord of his soul. If you do not stabilize him, he will self-combust. Instructing him to focus is useless; he needs a Container.'

'Kinetic Friction? That's the same thing as fire affinity, right?' Lorelei interrupted. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

'Yes. But the boy can't possibly master his affinity at this stage. Though he is very fortunate to have a defined path in his cultivation,' Zero replied.

'I don't think fortunate is a fitting word,' Aden sighed as he turned to face the boy's back. He wasn't quite sure, but he felt this was the way parents felt when training their children.

"Hey... Uhh..."

Again, Aden couldn't finish his words. This time, it wasn't because he was confused more than he already was, but because he'd sadly forgotten his name.

'I could swear he told me his name when we met... did he?' Aden thought with deep, unsettling confusion this time.

The eldest somehow guessed the cause of Aden's confusion as he replied with hidden annoyance and frustration. "The name I gave myself was Eren. My younger ones are Armin and Reiner."

'Why do they sound so familiar...?' Aden wondered.

The boy didn't care to remove his eyes from the rising sun as he spoke, and his expression carried a weird sense of satisfaction underneath his vengeful demeanor.

Deciding not to dwell on useless thoughts, he memorized their names and appearances of the unconscious kids before he walked towards him.

Aden looked at the boy's back. The orange sparks were getting brighter, beginning to singe the wooden frame of the window.

"Eren," Aden said, his voice sounding more forced than he liked.

The boy didn't turn around. "If you're going to tell me it's too dangerous, save your breath. I already know."

Aden walked over, and for the first time, he didn't use his speed. He walked like a man, heavy and tired. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Violet Shard he had pulled from his shoulder—the one that still hummed with the Tetrarchy's desperate energy.

"You've awakened," he whispered, almost to himself . "From this moment on, danger will find its way to your doorstep, and before long, it will be the only companion you have."

The boy's eyes widened as he heard Aden's words.

He scrambled for something reflective and finally found a small mirror lying nearby. Wiping away the dirt and soot with shaking fingers, he stared at his own reflection.

His eyes glowed back at him.

A deep red—so intense it unsettled even him.

The mirror slipped from his hands. He staggered backward, catching himself against the window frame where he had been resting moments before. The charred mark beneath his palm caught his attention, but the realization flooding his mind was far louder.

"I… I've awakened…?"

Aden stared at him blankly.

'Was he seriously unaware of his own awakening?' he wondered. His mind struggled to grasp the idea that someone could awaken without even realizing it.

'Zero,' he called out. 'Aren't you supposed to be aware when your awakening begins?'

'That, I do not know, Master,' Zero admitted smoothly.

Aden didn't know wether to laugh or cry. Zero had taken the role of walking encyclopedia and second in command of the Vassals as far as he was concerned, so his sudden admittance of lack of knowledge surprised him a bit.

He asked Lorelei, and as he expected, he didn't get a solid response.

His mind raced in order to find answers to his question using reference from his own awakening, but something strange happened.

He couldn't remember.

'Wait... what actually happened when I awakened? I remember fighting a beast then I built a cabin with Master... but wait... what did I do before then?'