7 How to adopt him? (1)

It's the last door.

"So, he is here." I am a bit surprised that I am not tired of walking. In front of me, there is a door with complicated shining runes strung together as a layer on the door.

"These runes only appear on the day of the union." I hear Mogrok say. "Before they disappear, you have to break them."

The monster has introduced himself properly. His name is Mogrok which means 'Black Charm' in the language of the forgotten. When he was barely a toddler, he lost his family in the war. He grew up as an orphan during the war and then, he was thrown in this realm alongside others who survived the war. Qeshaya, the forbidden prison, has an infinite flow of raw magical energy called 'Ehr'. He didn't have to go anywhere for food. He has been living inside his comfortable prison cell until the previous harbinger broke him out of his prison cell. Now, he cannot go back inside the prison after she left him here.

"I see." I give him a nod and touch the runes. They are soft like the spider's web. It's like rays of sunlight are woven together as a sheet. I pull one. It breaks like a thread. "This is surprisingly easy."

"Those are God runes." Mogrok is rather surprised. "These runes carry the strength of the eleven Gods. How are you able to break them easily?"

"I can." I clear the web of the runes. It comes off easily. "So, I shall."

"You are amazing, Master." I feel its hot breath near the back of my neck. It gives me goosebumps. Calm down! He won't eat me now. I am supposed to be his master.

I keep my tone light and tell him, "Keep distance."

"As you wish, Master." I can sense the amusement in his voice.

The last door is a black metallic door with no keyhole. Again! It feels like I am running around doors a lot. I touch all over the cold metal. It's smooth and smells of blood. I purse my lips. It's time to ask the monster. When I am turning around, the glowing blue universal key appears in my hand again. In the next moment, the keyhole appears in the door. I put in the key and twist it without delay. The door opens with a click.

The feeling of dread fills me. I should have thought before unlocking a God's prison, right?

"Master, you came prepared," Mogrok tells me with glee. "That's the universal key. It can open any door. The God Cina made it with his own hands. I have only heard about it from others. How did you find this key?"

"I have been lucky." I have been receiving contradictory information. Raye told me that this key should open the door to the prison of the thirteenth God. Mogrok tells me that it can open the door to anyplace. Since the key hasn't disappeared yet, Mogrok must have been right. Did Kresi not know this? Or did she know and want to use this key to free this God on the day of the union?

Alright. I am just fulfilling the last wishes of a dead person. After I take this God out, I am going to go back to my world with this Key.

I push the door and walk inside. It's a big room with countless runes and spells inscribed on the walls, ceiling, and the floor. It's glowing brightly, lighting the room with a dim glow. In the middle of the room, I see a young child in a black robe. He barely looks eleven or twelve at most. He is chained to the floor.

"Oh...Damn!"

I rush to the kid and check his vitals. I can't feel his pulse. His skin is cold as ice. I pull the golden chains and it breaks like rotten ropes.

"Wake up." I rub his palms and feet. I perform the CPR on him. But, the boy doesn't open his eyes. Is he dead?

"Master, if you take him out of this place, he will be resuscitated." Mogrok hasn't followed me inside. I blink at him like an idiot. "Why is that?"

"This room keeps him in this state." He points at the spell with his one arm. "These spells will keep him asleep like this. If you want to wake him up, bring him out of that room."

The spells around me are heating up. The room is also heating up. I pick up the kid on my back and bring him out of the room. In the corridor, I lay him down on the floor and feel his pulse.

"What are you doing, Master?" He eyes me curiously. "Why do you keep holding his wrist?"

"I want to feel his pulse." This kid doesn't have any pulse. Is he dead already? Am I too late? Oh God, what's going on? What am I supposed to do?

"He doesn't have a heart." He circles around me. "His heart is inside you, Master."

What? I look at the kid. He has black hair and ivory skin. His lips are pale. His features are sharp and intense. His long black eyelashes flutter like the butterflies' wings. His skin is not cold like before. It's warming up.

He stares at me with his dark eyes. I wait while holding my breath. He doesn't say anything. I don't say anything either. I notice that he is quite beautiful. Even at this state, he is strangely beautiful and alluring. Godly levels. Wait, he is a God! Of course, he has a godly level of beauty. I clear my throat and look away.

"Are you the thirteenth God?" I should ask the person to confirm. The kid sits up. His piercing eyes are unsettling. I look at Mogrok for help. He is also observing the kid.

"Why isn't he speaking?" I ask him.

"He is weakened and reduced to this state because of the long imprisonment in that room." Mogrok sits down on the floor beside us. "He is too weak to speak now...Who will believe that he is our God?"

"You are quite disrespectful of someone who is supposed to be your God." I frown at him. This kid looks like he has gone through a cruel experience.

"I serve the heart of the dark god," Mogrok tells me gravely. "When the previous harbinger freed me, she made the contract using the heart. She knew that the harbinger is someone who carries the heart of the thirteenth God. I don't have any loyalty to the thirteenth God as long as the heart is inside you. If he takes back the heart from you, I will serve him. Even if I am a dark spirit, I am bound by the contract."

Speechless. The dark God can take the heart back. What would become of me then? Can I live without a heart?

"Besides, I was barely a baby when I was brought to this prison," Mogrok laments in a low voice. "I lost my family in the war. I have never seen or serve the Dark God. I do not feel anything for him. For the last ten thousand years, I have been stuck inside a room. I wanted to stay inside that room and continue to nap, but the harbinger freed me. Now, I can't enter my comfortable room even if I want to. I am not interested in war or revenge. I just want to live, eat, and sleep."

That sounds like me. I have been brought to this world against my wills when I just wanted to live inside my room in my world.

This kid is eyeing us innocently, unaware of what's going on here. There is a mix of confusion and fear in his eyes.

"Kid, what's your name?"

He opens his mouth and tries to speak. He closes his mouth, looking confused.

"I don't remember," He says after a moment.

I look at Mogrok. "What's going on?"

"He must have lost his memories." Mogrok looks at me helplessly.

I pat the kid's head when he looks down sadly. "It's alright. He will remember in time."

He peeks up at me hopefully. What should I do with him?

"Master, if you keep him with you, he might kill you in the future." Mogrok seems peeved for some reason. "Why can't we leave this prison and live a peaceful life somewhere? I want to sleep."

"I can't throw him away." Though Mogrok's words are the words of my soul, I can't toss away a kid like this. He might be the thirteenth god. He might be the god of the Darkness. But, how can I throw him away when he is looking at me like this? His eyes are like my pet cat who died when I was in elementary school.