TW: suicide

"Alright, help me get her on the wagon," Bell told Shakti.

The two carefully lifted Rethusa and set her down in the back of the wagon. The merchant didn't have a problem with them doing this. As he saw it, he could have some security for the rest of his journey if he helped them.

Airmid hopped up alongside Rethusa to monitor her condition. "Good news is she's stable for now. However, I can't fully treat her until we reach Orario."

"If you need any help, let me know," Bell told her.

He could still use his limited knowledge of Aether to help stabilize her more if needed. If only he knew how to fully use it, then he could help out more.

"Alright, let's get out of here. I don't want to stay here a minute longer than needed," Shakti said as she and Anya hopped on the wagon.

Bell didn't get on the wagon, however. Something felt wrong. He felt as if Uto was defeated too easily. Shaking the thought out of his head, he was about to climb onto the wagon.

Before quickly pulling out Dawn's Ballad and swinging behind him, his blade met air as Uto's body stepped back. The top part was still sliced in half, and his head was held in his hands.

But by all intents and purposes, Uto was alive. Or was he?

"It seems you have killed one of my retainers, Bell," a calm and collected Uto spoke. But no, this wasn't Uto. He was too calm to be Uto.

Bell's eyes widened in fear as he knew who he was talking to.

"Agrona," Bell shakily whispered out.

Uto's face had no reaction. "Oh, it seems you know about my ability to possess. Oh, that's right, you have Arthur's journal for information."

Bell took a step back in fear. Why was Agrona here, and why were they talking? The others were also frozen in fear. They had no idea what to do as an Asura was talking to them. Who need I remind you is a whole other continent away.

Agrona didn't seem to care, however. "Yes, you may think that you've done something here today. You may think I'd be angry at this death. Truth is Uto is easily replaceable. You have achieved nothing in the long run. Instead, you settled an old blood feud. My plans are still underway, and there is nothing you can do to stop them. You may think you're getting stronger, and you are. But against me, you are still but an ant. You can keep growing stronger. Maybe you'll be able to defeat that one-eyed insect your people have trouble defeating. Meanwhile, my plans will continue unhindered, all while you watch, knowing you can't stop it. Better yet, sleep, child. You deserve the rest."

Bell's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground unconscious as Agrona ended his possession of Uto, and the corpse fell to the ground as well.

Anya immediately hopped off the wagon and began shaking Bell frantically. "Bell, Bell. Come on, wake up, please wake up," she begged.

Bell's body remained unmoving. Shakti hopped off the wagon and checked for a pulse. She found one almost immediately.

"He's got a strong pulse. He's still alive, just asleep," Shakti confirmed.

Anya felt herself calm down a little bit, knowing Bell was still alive.

"Let's load him in the wagon and get out of here. Who knows what else might show up" Shakti ordered.

Anya and Shakti both grabbed Bell and laid him next to Rethusa before hopping in the wagon themselves. Shakti smacked the back of the wagon twice, signaling the merchant to drive.

He didn't have to be told twice.

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Bell opened his eyes and saw a clear blue sky above him. He sat up and looked around, seeing a giant field surrounding him. The wind blew, causing the grass to blow and Bell to wonder where he was.

Wasn't he just in a wagon heading back to Orario?

"Bell," a soft feminine voice called to him.

Bell slowly turned around and saw his mother standing in front of him. Bell hesitantly took a step back.

"Who are you," he asked.

The woman looked at him, confused. "Your mother, silly. What's bothering you, Bell" she calmly asked.

Bell felt his heart rate pick up as he began looking around. "No, you're not. My mother is dead."

Meteria looked at him, confused. "Bell, are you feeling alright? I'm alive and well, as you can see."

Meteria took a step towards Bell, who took one back.

"What is going on? Where the hell am I" Bell thought, taking a look at his surroundings.

Meteria looked at Bell in worry. Her son wasn't usually like this.

"Bell sweetie, what's going on with you? Do you feel sick?" She asked.

Bell shook his head. "No, no, no. None of this is real. It's just a trick by Agrona."

The scenery then changed to inside a cabin. Bell took a look around and recognized it as his old house. What was he doing back here? Wasn't he just in a field?

"It's your fault."

Bell quickly turned around and saw his mother lying in a bed.

"It's your fault I'm dead," she said

Bell started shaking his head, trying to get his mother's voice out of it.

"Why did I have to die for a failure like you to live," Meteria said. Her voice was calloused and cold with no hint of emotion.

Bell covered his ears to block the voices out. "Shut up"

"If the world has to rely on a failure like you, then it's doomed. You won't be able to do anything."

Bell blinked again and saw his mother lying dead in the bed, her wrists slit. She had killed herself.

"She's dead because of you," a male voice said.

Bell slowly turned his head to the side. His red eyes wide and bloodshot. Because standing in the doorway was his father, he recognized the black hair and red eyes.

"My wife is dead. You killed her, Bell" His father's voice was cold and serious with a hint of anger.

Before Bell could respond, his father punched him in the face and sent him flying through the wooden wall.

Bell slammed on the ground and rolled a few times before rising to his feet. His father was already next to him, standing with his arms crossed.

"How could a weakling like you be my son" he taunted.

"None of this is real," Bell shakily said.

His father punched him in the face. "It's very real."

His father punched him again and again, beating Bell black and blue before dropping him to the ground.

"If you can even beat Alfia, what makes you think you can stop Agrona."

Bell tried to stand up, but a kick to his stomach by his father kept him down.

"My wife died to give birth to you. What was even the point if all you do is fail."

"So I can be a hero," Bell weakly said. His body hurt all over, and he didn't feel like he could move. But he had to try.

Right?

His dad scoffed. "A hero, please. What could you possibly do as a hero? Help monsters that talk. Barely keep your familia safe. Or how come every time you're in trouble, someone has to save you? That doesn't sound like a hero. That just sounds like some stupid kid trying to play one."

"You won't break me. You're not even real. Just some fucked up plan Agrona cooked up," Bell muttered as he pushed himself to his feet.

The scenery shifted once again, and this time Bell was in the empty streets of Orario with Alfia standing in front of him.

"Oh great, it's you," Bell scoffed.

Alfia remained there motionless and silent.

"What? Nothing to say about how much of a fuck up I am," Bell angrily asked.

"Wake up," Alfia though her voice was not her own.

"Regis?" Bell asked.

"Bell, you need to wake up. I don't know how much longer I can keep this connection," Alfia said, yet had Regis's voice.

"Regis, I don't know how to," Bell quickly replied.

"You have to kill yourself," Regis told him.

Bell was shocked. "Regis, if I do that, I'll die."

"Only in the dream world. Once you kill yourself here, you'll wake up," Regis responded.

Bell felt a weight in his left hand. He looked down and saw the teal blade of Dawn's ballad in his hand. All he had to do was stab himself. It shouldn't be too hard.

"Hurry, Bell. I'm losing con-

Regis's voice faded out, and he was gone. Leaving Bell all alone once more.

Alfia turned and looked at him. But before she could speak, Bell drove the tip of Dawn's ballad into his throat.

Blood gushed out from the wound as Bell began choking on his own blood. He fell to the ground, and everything around him became dark.

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Bell immediately shot up, breathing heavily. He looked around him and saw it was nighttime. He felt as if the ground was moving from under him.

He looked down and saw he was still in the wagon. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he was out of that nightmare.

"Bell, are you ok? What happened?" Anya asked, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Bell didn't want to talk about what just happened. But he had to give Anya an answer.

"Agrona tried to break me. He failed," was Bell's cryptic reply.

"Should I be worried about what he did?" Anya asked, scooting closer to Bell.

Bell wrapped his arm around her. "No, I'll be fine. He tried and failed, and him failing is all that matters."

Anya just leaned into Bell's body as he held her. She knew he was lying but didn't say anything as now wasn't the time or place. They had much more pressing matters to attend to.

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"Alright, let's get her inside," Shakti ordered as she and Bell carried Rethusa into Airmid's hospital.

They laid her down on a hospital bed in a spare room, so Airmid and her staff could treat her. Even after being kidnapped and held hostage for two days. Plus, the two-day journey back, Airmid went right back to work.

Before Bell and the others left, however, Airmid pulled Bell aside. Rethusa was already stable and was brought to the hospital to give her better treatment than she would've received out in the wilderness.

"Bell can you stay back a moment, please," she asked.

Bell looked to Anya and Shakti behind him. He gestured with his head for them to go on ahead as he would catch up.

The two women shrugged their shoulders and left, leaving Bell and Airmid alone in a hallway.

Bell leaned on the wall as Airmid nervously stood there. She had not fully recovered from the trauma of being kidnapped and nearly trafficked to Alacrya. But she would with enough time. However, there was a question she wanted to ask Bell.

"Once again, I thank you and the others for saving me. I don't know what would've happened if you three didn't arrive when you did. So um, thank you," Airmid nervously said.

"No problem. I know I probably shouldn't have gone with my injury, but I'm not one to sit around when someone needs help," Bell replied.

Airmid nodded her head as she knew that Bell wasn't lying.

She cleared her throat before speaking again. "Well, I, um, I wanted to ask if you could possibly train me. In case something like this happens again, I'll be able to fight back better than I did before. As it is right now, I'm just a healer who's terrible in a fight."

Airmid was fidgeting as Bell thought of an answer.

"Yeah, sure, no problem. However, it'll have to wait a minute. You need proper rest and food, and I need to solve this thing with Artemis. But after I tidy this situation up, you can swing by the manor, and I can teach you a few basics. After that, maybe we'll finally be able to get dinner," Bell joked.

Airmid let out a slight giggle at his joke. "Yes, maybe if you stop getting hurt and I don't get kidnapped again, we can get dinner. Well, I won't hold you any longer, Bell. This Artemis incident sounds serious. Just don't come back hurt, and good luck."

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Bell arrived home a few minutes later. When he entered the house, he found it was strangely empty. He walked into the living room and saw Miach, Nazha, Anya, Regis, Hermes, and Asfi sitting on the couches.

"Uncle Hermes, why are you here?" Bell asked.

Hermes gave Bell a serious look. "It appears Artemis has been captured by an ancient beast on par with the calamities. I need your help to free her."

Bell straightened himself and gave Hermes a serious look back. "When do we leave."

Well Bell just can't seem to catch a break no matter what. It looks like Agrona wanted to break Bell mentally but underestimated him.

The first conversation Bell has with his 'parents' doesn't go so well, and he was able to kill himself so easily. Wonder why?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as we next dive into the Artemis arc. This will be another short arc like Airmids, and then we dive into the juggernaut arc.