Aiden & The Holy Sword by Nick Venom (parable of the sower read online txt) 📕

“Sorry about that, I’m getting ahead of myself. You must be Mia, the fine young lady my kids told me of.” She said, bowing her head. Mia quickly and clumsily bowed back. 

Hillary stood up and motioned for them to follow her. “I heard from Kirby that you guys were going to arrive.” She led them through three hallways before coming across two doors leading into the saunas. One door was labeled “male” while the other read “female” on it. 

“I’ve reserved the entire spa for your four. Males go in the male hot spring while females go in the female hot spring.” She instructed them. “Towels and other necessary stuff will be in a small room off to the side of the spring. Leave your clothes and weapons there.” She looked at Aiden’s sword. 

They nodded and followed her instructions, separating to their separate gender-specific hot springs. Eryn and Aiden in the male one while Payton and Mia went into the female one.

The boys eased themselves into the hot spring, letting out a sigh of relief once sitting down. The two boys kept their distance from each other, staring at the sky. 

“What do you plan to do after leaving this town? Go to the frontlines or join a Holy Wielder school?” Eryn asked.

“I don’t know,” Aiden muttered. “I, originally, came here to train towards revenge. However, I’m not strong enough to defeat Kirby, so how can I kill the demon lord. I would die a dog’s death. That would disgrace my parents’ memory.”

“I can’t say that I understand your pain, but you shouldn’t be hellbent on revenge. I believe that having a family and settling down, telling the stories of your parents would be a better option. You could keep their memory alive with your children, then grandchildren, then grand-grandchildren, and so on.” Eryn told him. 

“That would be a good idea, but… I can’t see myself doing that. I can’t move on until that demon lord is dead.” He remarked.

“Oh… I can’t stop you or anything but don’t let your childhood slip by you.” Eryn looked at Aiden. “Well, again, you don’t have to trust me. Ha! I don’t think I could even take my own advice.” 

Aiden slightly nodded, memorized by the stars overhead. Each shined brightly, nearly surpassing each other. They were competing for the brightest, yet they were also working together to brighten the sky. He smiled up at the sky.

Payton and Mia entered their hot spring, relaxing in the hot water. They were memorized by the warm feeling they felt. They snuggled up with the warmth.

Payton rested her arms on the edge of the hot spring. 

“This is the life. After a hard day’s worth of training, we get a chance to visit this resort.”

“I’m jealous, your mom works here,” Mia said in almost a whisper-tone.

“She works here, but it’s really expensive to book an appointment here. I heard it charges a gold coin to reserve a hot spring for an hour. We’re lucky that Kirby got us unlimited time, thanks to his connections and his title of village chief.”

“That’s a-amazing.” She looked towards the thick wall that separated the hot springs. Payton noticed her lingering stare.

“I think your love story is more amazing,” Payton teased. 

Mia snapped her head back to Payton and shook her head. “I-I-I don’t h-have an l-l-l-love story.” She stammered.

Payton got closer to Mia. “Are you sure that you don’t? I think I saw you being overly ecstatic over Aiden complimenting you.” She whispered into her ear. Mia shook her head again.

“It’s nothing l-like that.” She whispered, blushing hard.

Payton backed away from her. “No worries, I won’t expose your secret. However, I will warn you that you shouldn’t wait too long. It’s obvious that he will leave this town and fight the demons. You won’t be able to forcefully settle him down, but you could at least be by his side.” She told her. She twirled her hair around her finger. “You need to charm him into a relationship, but make it obvious. As you already know, he is denser than a rock.”

She hesitated to respond.

“Something similar happened to my parents. My dad was an Ironheight knight, the creme of the crop before he…” Her voice trailed off. Her cheerful expression turned serious for a split second before turning back. “Anyways, my mom acted fast and secured him, leading to us being born.” She gazed up at the stars overhead her. “We both want to follow in our fathers’ footsteps. Eryn has the talent, but he’s lacking as a leader. However, he’s still working hard to fill that gap. For me, I’ve been training hard and pushing myself to fill my fathers’ shoes, but that’s a hard feat to accomplish.”

“Do you miss your dad?” Mia bluntly asked.

Payton asked. “I do… but I feel like he’s proud of me.” She remarked while staring at the stars.

Mia raised her head to gawk at the stars, flying overhead. She noticed how they competed with each other, but---in the end---they worked together towards the common goal of brightening the sky. Together and united, not lonely and separated.

TBC…

Aiden parried Mia’s blow, attacking with his own might. He threw her back and prepared his next strike. He exchanged more blows with Mia before they collapsed from overwhelming stress. They had been fighting for half an hour, parrying blows and switching from attacking to defending. Mia was getting better at using the wooden sword but she hadn't graduated yet. She was still young and inexperienced to use the steel swords that the siblings were proficient in. 

Aiden wasn’t allowed to use his Holy Sword, instead, being given a normal wooden training sword. He would kill them if he used his Holy Sword.

He parried another blow, reaching in for a jab. Mia analyzed Aiden, turning her left heel ninety degrees and moving her body outside of his range. He watched as she did this, unable to move his body. She grabbed his shoulder, trapping him in his spot, before jabbing the sword into his gut.

“Locate,” He muttered, disappearing from her grip.

He popped up behind her, turning the table on the situation. She expected this outcome, ducking quickly. Aiden jabbed at her head, missing after she ducked. 

Mia jabbed his knee, breaking his balance. He crumbled to his knees as Mia sprung to her feet. 

“Locate,” He muttered, disappearing for the second time. Now, he was farther away. He hadn’t disappeared behind her. 

“Stop running!” Payton shouted from the sidelines.

“Can it, Pay!” Eryn shouted.

“Mia has him playing in her grip. How could he escape.”

“Watch,” Kirby muttered, his voice shushing his students.

Aiden ignored the obvious taunts. He rushed forward, activating Divine Hope simultaneously. He clashed swords with Mia, his strength pushing her back farther than she wanted. 

She retreated a few steps, preparing herself to run into a wall. The wall being Aiden and his incredible strength. 

Aiden beat her to the chase, charging forward. They clashed swords, the sounds of the crackling wood echoing. Mia swung her sword, nicking Aiden’s shirt. He retreated a few steps, activating Undercover. He turned invisible. Mia looked around her, searching for where he teleported, not knowing that he was invisible in front of her. She went around circles, her sword close to her chest. 

“He’s invisible, but she didn’t realize that,” Payton whispered to Eryn. 

“I get that, now who will win?” Eryn whispered.

“Aiden will. No matter how much you train, you can never surpass those with skills. The gap is too large.” Kirby muttered, carefully watching the fight.

Aiden spun around Mia and lurked in the faint shadows for an opportunity. He waited for her back to be turned to him, jumping out and slashing her. However, he didn’t realize Mia had closed her eyes, listening to the faint swaying of the grass and the dirt’s movement. She had tracked Aiden’s movements thanks to those obscure details, deducting that he was behind her. She spun on her heels, stopping Aiden’s approach. He retreated and tried a different angle, getting the same results.

It looked like a stalemate. 

They repeated the process again and again until Aiden got a bright idea to deceive her. He followed the same act of walking around her and looked for an opportunity. Once he discovered the opportunity, he charged forward. Mia would, then, turn around and face him, exposing her back. Aiden activated Locate and teleported behind her. He was a foot behind her, slashing at her back. She didn’t have enough time to react, being caught in an awkward motion. She was thrown into the heavily-packed dirt, her hair brushing against it.

Aiden deactivated Undercover and reached his hand out, picking Mia up from the dirt. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Y-Yeah, I’m alright.” She responded, retracting her hand back. She slightly blushed as they walked towards Kirby.

“That was a good fight, you both have grown. You have been getting better at using your minds. Aiden!” He shouted, taking the attention away from Mia. “I applaud you for using your brain and chaining skills. A mix of all three skills would’ve gotten you the win a lot earlier than the cat and mouse game you played. Now, Mia!” He took all of the attention away from Aiden. 

“You have blossomed into a fine young lady. I saw how you analyzed your surroundings to figure out Aiden’s location. A clever move, indeed.”

“Thank you, master.” They both said simultaneously, bowing their heads. 

Emilie watched from afar, hiding in the shrubbery. He glared at them with scornful eyes. He distrusted Aiden and saw Mia as a disgrace. He could care less about the siblings or Kirby. They were all disgusting, revolting, dangerous people who killed on a whim. “Dirty Ironheight Knights. I hope you’re all dead, especially you Aiden. You’ve corrupted my sister with your revenge-filled ways. You have changed her.”

He darted away, heading back towards his house. “Die like that knight…” His voice trailed off. He ran into the house and up towards his room. His parents watched with worried eyes. They understood that he went through something. His past was slowly revealing itself.

TBC…

Kirby established a tournament, pairing the students in pairs. Aiden was with Payton while Mia got Eryn. It was a pair against a pair. 

Kirby established a few obvious rules; no killing, you can surrender but that counts as a loss, and you can’t hit while people are down. After that, Kirby blew the whistle, igniting both teams. Aiden and Payton rushed forward together, coordinating efficiency. Aiden acted as the distraction, while Payton flanked them. Eryn noticed Payton flanking them,