Pain wracked Daneel as soon as he felt himself in the body of a little boy.
He hadn't known exactly what to expect, but for some reason, he had thought that he might forget everything about reality and completely become the little one who was going to go through so much.
However, it was different.
As the little boy opened his eyes and looked down, Daneel realized that he was like a bystander inside Aran's head.
He couldn't control anything, but he could experience each and every feeling and emotion that Aran went through.
He was in a small room, and he had just been woken by a guard who looked at him with pity.
That was when Aran looked down to see that scars were forming all over his body where his skin had been boiled away before.
Which day was this? Was it the first, or the ninth?
"Which day is this? Is it the fifth, sixth, or the ninth? Father should be back on the ninth…"
Wait… Where did that come from?
This startled Daneel, which was when he realized that he could also listen to Aran's thoughts.
Oh… So this was what 'mimicking' meant.
Well, at least he knew that he would definitely be getting the answers he wanted.
The pain soon got to a point where Daneel was ready to scream but he held it in.
In many ways, it was as if he had been captured by an enemy and was being tortured while being tied up to a chair. He couldn't move, but he had to endure everything with no other choice.
However, Daneel learned the true meaning of torture after he was taken down a corridor to a room where a man in regal robes was sitting.
"If you thought that I was going to get tired of seeing you scream because you tried to kill me, you're wrong, boy. Welcome. I have a special plan for you, today. I couldn't even sleep all night because I was so excited! It seems you are close to death, though, according to the healer, so alas, this might be our last day together…well, we have to make it count!"
Saying this, the prince gestured at something in front of him, which was when Aran turned his head to see a stone bed on which arranged burning coal had been neatly spread out.
As the guard proceeded to hold Aran's hands and slowly lower him onto that bed, Daneel realised what was going to happen, and he braced himself for the pain.
All around him, he had noticed multiple instruments that had been used for torture so far - a metal human-shaped casket, of sorts, with marks of soot all around it as if it had been burned with someone inside, a roasting pit with dried blood around it, and so many more that he couldn't even explain. Of course, Aran had been subjected to them all.
Daneel marveled at his fortitude even more now. How had he not lost his mind due to the pain and the hopelessness?
The answer was given by a thought that filled Aran's head like a mantra as he got closer to the coal.
"Father is coming…Father is coming…Father is coming…"
Getting his answer, Daneel prepared to scream, but suddenly, an explosion was heard from outside, which caused most of the guards to run out with panic to see what had happened.
Aran was thrown to the floor, but he had no energy to sit up. His breathing was labored, as even though he had been healed, he was still very weak.
The prince was hastily ushered somewhere while being securely guarded, and Aran was left alone in the room.
He faded in and out of consciousness, and Daneel could feel the life leaving him slowly.
That was when the door burst open to reveal the hazy silhouette of a man who was frantically searching for something.
In an instant, Daneel understood and recognized that this was Aran's father.
The man hastily ran to Aran and shook him, but Aran was so weak that even his pulse had gotten very feeble.
Shouts could be heard from outside the door, which meant that the guards and mages were definitely hot on his trail. Hence, he didn't have any time to check thoroughly, so when he held Aran's hand and didn't feel any pulse, he looked around and saw all the torture devices present.
"No, no, no, Aran, you can't be dead, too…"
Pleading the heavens in this way, the man hastily took out some sort of medicine and forced it inside Aran's mouth. It was bitter as it slid down his throat, but the moment it reached his stomach, it immediately started healing his insides and giving him strength.
Alas, it wasn't fast enough to kickstart his pulse, as the man felt his hand again and still felt nothing.
Behind him, the shouts of the guards got louder and louder, and the man kept looking around again and again as if he didn't want to accept it.
Yet… As he finally did, the 'snap' occurred, causing his eyes to go mad as he began that maniacal laughter that would echo for hours and hours on end.
Daneel could see him deciding to burn everything for revenge, as the same flame that shone in his eyes appeared on his hands.
Aran could understand what was happening, but he was half unconscious. Even his eyes were half-open, and he tried to muster the energy to show that he was alive, but it all failed.
With one last look at his son, the man flew out of the room and began the massacre, which was clearly conveyed to the two of them from the screams of pain and the faint smell that floated inside.
The medicine began to work quickly, and Daneel soon realized that it was a top grade one that only Warriors could afford. It quickly gave Aran enough energy to stand up and move out of the room, only to come upon the first corpse he would see that day.
Of course, it had been burnt to death, and as Aran moved through the large house, his mind was blank with no thoughts whatsoever.
"Father, father, father…", he desperately chanted, searching for the man he had been waiting for.
The moment he exited the large house that he was in, he saw the prince screaming as he turned to ash.
His father laughter reached a new pitch after this, but unsatisfied, he moved on to killing the townsmen who had gathered.
"YOU WATCHED AND DID NOTHING! YOU KILLED THEM TOO!", he screamed, making fear appear on the faces of those below him who had gathered to see why there was such a commotion.
They were in the square, and as each person died, Aran kept screaming out, trying to get the attention of his father.
However, due to the screams of so many more people who were afraid for their lives, his was drowned out.
Daneel almost teared up as he saw this. A little boy, frantically running around, trying to show the man who was killing so many as he was convinced that he had died.
'Please look at me. Please find me. Please stop this. Father, please!'
These thoughts kept echoing in his mind, but everything was futile.
Soon, Aran collapsed, hopelessly, and took shelter in the ground, right where Daneel had seen him when he had first entered the vision.
Right before he did so, though, he had seen someone burning and his eyes had lingered on them, and he had felt a strange emotion which Daneel could not pinpoint while the voice in his head had stopped.
While cowering in the shelter, Daneel finally found out the answer to one of his questions, as Aran started to recall many things.
A kind old lady giving him bread to eat.
A woman knitting a shirt for him and lovingly gifting it to him for his birthday.
A man lending their family firewood for the winter.
A family happily inviting them to dinner, after which they were sent home with bags bursting with food.
And his mother… Happily making many friends while he grew up treating them all as his family.
Yet, now… All of these people burned in front of him, and, of course, Aran blamed himself.
He recalled the last memory he had had with them, and that was the reason behind him feeling in this way.
It had been after his mother's death, and he had been completely filled with a mind of anger and the thirst for revenge.
Still, he had been cared for by all these people who kept telling him to bide his time and take revenge later, as it was not wise to act now.
They pleaded him to control himself, but he still went ahead and tried to kill the prince, even though his father would be coming.
His father had always been absent for the most part, so he had started to treat himself as the man of the family. Hence, he had taken it upon himself to avenge his mother, and he had believed that he could do it.
They had known that their deaths would be futile if they tried to stop the prince, and they tried to explain this to Aran, but as a child who had lost the person he loved most in this world, Aran had been unable to understand it.
And, of course… That revenge had caused him to be tortured, and the torture had resulted in him being in that state when he was found by his father, which in turn made the man go mad and start all this.
He kept recalling each of those people again and again, and he kept apologizing to them, as he felt that he was responsible for all of their deaths.
This… This was definitely why the illusion formation had brought forth this memory.
Daneel could only watch on without being able to help, as he mused within himself about how every story had two sides.
To some people who only heard the tale from the perspective of the previous Grand Court Mage, they would feel as if the townspeople were selfish folk who deserved what had happened to them.
Yet, what else could they have done?
At least, Daneel could never have expected that it was these people who would be responsible for the strong feelings inside Aran, that had made him experience this scene over and over again due to the illusion formation.
He had part of his answer now. But he waited to find out what happened when it had gone all blurry.
Daneel endured it all. He felt the pain, he felt the regret, he felt the shame, and he felt himself on the brink of collapsing from so much emotion, but he endured and held on, just like Aran did. He used Aran as his motivation, telling himself that if his subordinate could do it, then as his King, he had to be able to, too.
Finally, as Aran scrambled out and realized that his father had died, he was found by the townspeople.
And this… Was where Daneel understood why these memories had been locked away.
"You killed them all! You!"
"If only you had just controlled your grief! We were all sad for you! But now look what happened!"
"You deserve to die with them, too!"
They blamed him.
This… Only served to reinforce Aran's conclusion, increasing what he felt to a different level.
Pain unlike any he had experienced so far struck Aran's heart, threatening to make it burst into a million pieces.
Only one old man seemed to still care for him, and it was this man who hastily took Aran away while being chased by those others who had found him.
The old man hid Aran in a house, while trying to tell him that he wasn't responsible.
This was the old man whom Aran had used to treat as his own grandfather, and who had used to tell tales about the Kingdoms beyond Lanthanor.
Sadly, his words weren't enough, and Aran looked like he was going to devolve into madness.
They hadn't had much time, though, for the man to try more. The army soon entered the town to take measure of all those who had survived, and they had spells to prevent anyone from leaving.
The best thing to do was to hide Aran among the dead bodies, as he looked like them a lot. Aran was mostly numb, but he understood what the man said in parts and agreed.
Thus, it resulted in the scene of him hiding, following which he was taken out. By then, it looked like the King hadn't decided to kill everyone.
Even in the day spent in the cave before the next massacre, Aran kept blaming himself, and at one point, he even wondered whether he should continue to live.
Yet, all that changed…due to that letter.
"Aran, your father is dead, so it is time you remember something that he told you when you were just seven years old. Recall your birthday. Recall the time when I was there, when we had both gotten drunk, and when he had said something which you didn't understand. You will understand it now."
Aran obeyed, and went back to that time.
He had been just a wee little kid, and the main thing he remembered most was that he had been ecstatic that his father, who was usually not at home, was present for his birthday.
They spent a very fun day doing all the things Aran liked - they played, they explored the town, and his father told him stories of brave men who established kingdoms and cared for the people. As the time for the sunset came, the family also sat down together on the roof of their little house to watch it, hand in hand, feeling happy in each others' presence.
That night, indeed, the old man had come over, and the two had begun to drink.
His mother had had to leave for something, and Aran had been alone with them.
That was when his father had drunkenly placed him on his lap.
He had been a bear of a man - large and hulking, but where he felt ferocious to others, only comfort and security was what Aran felt in that lap.
Looking into his eyes, the man spoke, and as Aran recalled those words, everything inside him began to change.
"Aran, one day, I might not be able to come back. And if that day comes, I want you to remember this. I do what I do because as a Lanthanorian who believes in the ways of the old, I cannot sit idly by while little kids just like you in a neighboring kingdom are killed without any reason. I feel sad that I cannot be with you, but I endure that sadness and keep it away by…laughing."
Saying so, he laughed out loud, and this was the sound that Aran remembered him most by.
It was a booming laughter- the sort which would warm anyone's heart.
And warm his heart it did, before his father continued.
"Every laugh keep the sadness and the pain away. No matter what happens in life, son, I want you to laugh in the same way and keep everything that threatens you away. Find something to do which makes you happy, and keep laughing, as we Lanthanorians never give in, and never stand by if we are capable of helping someone. If you remember just one thing about me, then let it be this. I don't even care whether you choose to follow the teachings of our ancestors, or not. Just remember this, and live your life well, son."
Laugh, and endure.
That was the message given by his father.
And that…was how he decided his life would be.
As Daneel exited the vision and got back to his own body, he began sweating profusely as he waited to adjust and feel sane again.
All those memories of pain and grief were like monsters which were close to swallowing him and destroying the very fabric of his mind.
Yet, he somehow endured, and immediately went through the Champion Paths before he made his decision.
In the records of the Champion Paths he had obtained from behind the third seal, there was one which was only meant for those who were strong of mind.
Those who weren't strong enough would find themselves overtaken and driven mad, but if one was able to train in it, then they were capable of achieving heights many could only dream of.
As one who had kept so much inside him and still blamed himself to this day while only laughing and joking on the outside, there was no one better for this technique.
So, Daneel went ahead and gave the order.
"System, prepare to give him the High-Tier Champion Path 'Mindhunter'."