The King Integrates (1)
Denva brought down his sword for the last time, its rusty blade whizzing through the air with great intensity.
He was drenched in sweat and his arms hurt. He had been at it for five hours, making sure that the foundation for the sword would be smooth. If it was to awaken its will, he had to make sure it would be attracted by his.
Denva took the sword's sheath and slowly slid the sword into it.
The moment the sword's blade vanished into the sheath, Denva felt as if a portion of himself had been taken from him.
The portion he wanted to keep hidden.
The only time he would use that part of himself was when he was cutting down enemies.
When he unsheathed that sword again, it would either for his continued practise, or for bloodshed.
Naturally, he still felt the bubbling emotions roaring inside him, but that would die down soon the more he came here to unlock the sword's will.
It was mystical, but expected.
He sighed in relief and wrapped the sword with the other one which he didn't bother to unsheathe as its role would only come into play later.
He hurriedly walked home and on arrival he found both his parents waiting anxiously for him in the lounge. Charlie was sleeping on her father's lap and his parents seemed to be watching the tragic news on the television where a female reporter was talking about the recent World Titan attack.
"...ID4 suffers quite the number of casualties with the appearance of a Class B World Titan. Fortunately, the rapid response of the GEA stopped the creature in its tracks...." the woman reported.
Synthina rushed to Denva and clutched his face.
"Denva! Where on earth were you? What happened?" she blasted him with questions as she checked his body for any wounds.
"I'm fine, mom," he said.
"We were so worried! We even called Johnn but he said you had left work hours ago!"
"Like I said. I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me," Denva said. He understood how they felt, but the more empathetic part of him that would love to indulge them as their child had vanished in the night.
'Denva. I will keep my promise to leave your family better off, but I can't afford to be derailed anymore,' he thought.
He held his mother's shoulder and flashed a weak smile.
"It's okay," he said.
Synthina would have felt a little reassured but the look in her son's eyes had changed drastically. They looked deep and hollow.
"A-alright," she stammered. "Let me heat up your food."
Denva went and sat opposite his father who had been looking at him with a steady gaze while he interacted with Synthina.
"How was work?" he asked, his ever baggy eyes locking with Denva's.
"It was fine. I'm earning quite a bit," Denva replied.
"That's good," said Benedan. "Where did you go after work?"
"I had to go get some things in preparation for the Selection."
Benedan's eyes rested on the wrapped object on the floor beside Denva.
"What is that?"
"A sword."
Benedan was surprised by the nonchalance with which Denva said this.
"Can't kill World Titans with my bare hands."
Benedan nodded. He wanted to provide some fatherly advise but he felt a wide chasm between him and his son lately. There was already a divide when Denva became the only one to awaken World Essence in his body.
What could he teach him?
How could he relate?
He had felt less of a father when Denva had began spending time with Johnn who was like him some time ago. Now that it was happening again, he felt like he had failed.
It hurt him as his work afforded him even less time with his son.
He lost his touch.
Providing for the family and being there for the family were two things he found difficult to do at the same time. He would have loved to hate this rotten side of the world that was split from the better portion, but in the end, he still had a part to play. He just didn't know how.
He stroked Charlie's hair.
"If its for anything to do with World Essence, I'm certainly not the person you can talk to, but for anything else, don't push us away. We love you. We don't want to see you do things on your own," Benedan said.
"I understand," Denva gave a dry response with the same hollow look in his eyes that made Benedan's heart tremble. He knew he had failed to reach Denva even a little.
Soon, Denva had his meal in the dining. As he ate, he felt something missing beside him. A blob that would always share his food.
He squinted his eyes and hardened his resolve. It was time to pick up his pace.
***
A full week passed.
Denva worked himself to the bone. He did the almost the same amount of work the other man did, ignoring how his body threatened to break.
His features changed in that one week.
He looked... tougher.
From his visage to his overall body structure, something screamed of ferocity about him people couldn't put a finger on.
The other men at the site began to respect Denva's hardworking nature and he found himself integrated into some kind of league of brethren he didn't know even existed.
When the work for the day ended, he picked up his wrapped swords from the storage at the site and headed to ID8.
He had been bringing his swords every time he went to work in fear of Charlie's curious nature.
As his body ached, he found himself grinning at the prospect of what he would accomplish tonight.
He had been going to the bridge every night after having told his parents that he would be going for sword practice lessons after work.
Each time he swung the sword, he would feel a faint sense of energy rise from the sword. When he began Integrating, he expected the beast he had been fashioning for a week to be worth it.
When he reached the commercial square, at a special spot he knew quite well after having visited this place frequently in the past few days, he found a man with slicked back brown hair and grey eyes smoking a cigarette.
The moment this man laid his eyes on Denva, he grunted in displeasure.
"Why are you here so early?" he asked. The sun was beginning to set but they were supposed to make their move deeper in the night.
"I thought we could get a head start and get to know each other in the meantime," Denva said with a wide smile that made Bazzard frown.
"Screw off," he grunted as he prompted Denva to follow him.
They walked up to a pick up truck and boarded iy Bazzard driving steadily away from commercial square.
"You better know what you're doing. You have 1 hour. If you don't come back in that time, you're on your own. Your jumpsuit is in the back," Bazzard said without turning his head.
Denva turned to the compartment in the back of his seat and saw a dark jump suit with a gas mask.
'Should be sufficient,' he thought.
He would be dunking down a massive whole soon.