Through the seeing glass, part one

A/N NOTICE:

Greetings readers! Is anyone actually caught up to the current chapter? If so then please leave a comment! if there are some of you that are current then I'll release some more chapters with frequency.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kagu's ears twitched nervously as the lack of a heartbeat made Itself woefully apparent. He brought his head up from the tiny creature's frame and stared down at it. It was only moments ago that it's voice was berating him and hollering with unnecessary volume.

"Dang it… I've done it again." He uttered, looking down at the frog in dejection.

His abnormal strength made it difficult to interact with wildlife and so in his village he would often be barred from going out on hunts with other children for smaller creatures like this… whatever it is.

Suddenly though, I thought occurred in his mind, which shortly found form in his voice.

"Wait a minute…! I remember Mirak showed us what to do when someone's heart has stopped! If I remember correctly…"

Kagu flipped the small green amphibian on its back and placed both his hands on it's stomach.

"It's like THIS!"

With as much force as he could muster, Kagu pressed down on the creature's chest. Now, if this creature were ordinary it would have surely turned into a gorey paste, but fortunately for Kagu, it was far from ordinary. Much like everything in the Abyss.

The small amphibian screeched out in a mixture of pain and frustration as it swiftly kicked away Kagu's hand with it's deceptively powerful legs.

Elation and surprise welled up in Kagu as he haphazardly seven-twentied into an arrangement of nearby grapevines like a child's dreidel. The small amphibian hopped on top of the head of a doe, one of the animals amongst the many, and stared at the blessed boy with judgmental eyes. Kagu's form had gotten tangled on the vines, crushing many of the grapes that had just so happened to be perfect for harvesting, leaving him practically drenched in the sweet pulp. Instead of struggling, the remorseless boy eyed some of the still intact grapes hanging adjacent from him and took some, plopping them into his mouth.

*Nom**Nom*

*Nom**Nom*

*Nom**Nom*

*Gulp*

…

…..

"THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!!"

Like a child possessed, Kagu gleefully began to tear into the grapes without a thought of his audience. Smelling the sweet aroma left on Kagu from the grapes, many of the animals that were amongst the small Amphibian's flock walked up to the still boy. Some licked the freshly crushed juices off him while others merely sniffed around his body. Kagu giggled as the tiny licks and cold noses tickled him ceaselessly.

"C'mon guys."

He pushes a few friendly sniffers away.

"Stop it."

Kagu, taking care to be especially gentle so as to not have a repeat of what happened with the frog, pushed more of the animals away from him whilst ripping himself from the bushels. A small smile formed on his face as he looked down at the animals that were now circling around him. He had often dreamed of a scenario like this. Being surrounded by a bunch of cuddly and cute forest animals. Of course, he knew the real reason was simply because he was covered in grape juice, but he'd not let that marr the moment.

In a fit of dismay, the amphibian groaned internally as he saw his fellow forest animals fall for the delight of the berry juice.

"He's right! You're all better than this! Even if your minds have faded from these long years you should still be able to come back to your senses!" The frog shouted.

Still, his long time friends continued as they were with no heed to his words. He could practically feel his beatless heart fall to the bottom of his chest as he turned his head away from the scene, preparing to jump off the doe's head. He didn't want to see this anymore.

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*hop*

*splash*

*hop*

*splash*

"Yeegh… Perhaps this is for the best? Maybe it's a good thing that they forgot themselves."

*Hop*

*splash*

"But if everyone was going to do that… then could you at least let me know first so I could come along…?"

Gair looked down into the water the lily pad he was on was floating in, reading the mourning of his heart in his face. This feeling of loneliness was something he had long since come to accept, feeling that he should instead be happy that his friends no longer had to suffer for eternity in these limited shells. Yes, that was what he should be feeling.

"No use thinking too hard about it."

Suddenly the voice of one supremely annoying child rang through the still, cold, air.

"Hey you! You're actually really strong aren't you! You sent me flying with nothing more than a kick from your tiny legs! Are you some type of sage or something?"

Gair turned around and looked at the mountain of a child. His tail was practically speaking for him, what with it dancing around his backside. And that face, oh that stupid face.

"You brat. Wipe that silly smile off your face would you! I just tossed you a whole meter and you want to talk with me? Your mother really taught you poorly, huh."

The boy pulled one of the grapevines he had ripped from the tree to his face, taking two into his mouth.

"Weeell, ma moms been dead since I was old enough to know what a mom is so she couldn't have talked at all."

Gair did the equivalent of a shrug for a frog. He couldn't be less interested in this child's story after what had just happened minutes ago.

"Makes sense. It's no wonder that you were peeking at the Princess from behind some boulders. You don't know right from wrong!"

The child furrowed his brow and burst forth in an attempt to try and grab Gair. Unfortunately for him though, Gair was aware of the child's speed and strength and thus adjusted his own to be just outside of his capabilities.

"I do know right-"

The child whiffed a grab due to Gair's skillful dodging.

"From wrong!"

The child jumped forward in an attempt to tackle the small form of Gair. Naturally the only result was total failure. The child ended up tackling a large rock face first, completely stopping him in his tracks. The boy picked himself up and threw the rock at Gair, narrowly missing him.

"I don't know who this princess person is but you listen here! I was fortunate enough to be taken in by my cousins and My step mother works really hard to make sure that I'm doing okay! It's you who came up on me while I was stretching and it's you who keeps disturbing things with your grumpiness. I get it that you're supposed to be this suuuper old geezer but there are limits to how Crotchety one can be!"

~This kid…!~

Having enough of the child's non-sense, Gair prepared to attack.

~Just one kick. That's all it should take to get this stupid kid under control.~

The kid was of a similar mind. He entrenched his feet in the ground, preparing to launch himself as fast as he could. From the outside, the scene looked like that on a stage. A comedy. The two jetted towards each other with blurring speed, arms and legs outstretched towards each other.

The voice of a man called out to the two as they were about to collide with one another, diverting the attention of the both of them.

"You two need to stop! You can't fight here!"

It was already too late. The two slammed into one another in what was a particularly one sided trade. Gair sent the child flying back into the ground, leaving him in a small rut in the ground. Swirls were all that the onlooker could see in the whites of the kids eyes as he lay there unconscious.

"Gair! Why are you harassing one of the Grand Mages guests! You should know better than that!"

Gair looked over at the voice after landing gracefully on top of the boy's head.

"Oh. It's only you Gydion. I don't care about whether or not this child is a guest of the King! This child was far too disrespectful to be allowed to do as he pleased. Naturally being the kind old gentleman I am, I happily obliged."

Gydion pinched the bridge of his nose whilst shaking his head.

"I have more than enough work to deal with without you making even more for me."

Gair once again did the equivalent of a shrug for his frog like body before hopping off the child's head and onto the ground.

"You've always been a hard worker, Gydion. A little more won't be too much for you to handle."

Gydion audibly sighed as he combed his wild red hair back with his fingers. He was already super late on his daily duty to Suzuka and now this old timer was causing even more trouble for him.

~Damn that geezer~ He thought to himself as he walked over to the unconscious child. Taking a knee, Gydion shook him by the shoulder whilst calling out his name

"Kagu."

The boy remained still.

"Oi, Kagu! Get up!"

~Still nothing?~

Gydion rolled his eyes as he turned to ask Gair a question.

"You sure that you didn't kill the kid? He isn't waking up."

Gair hopped away, replying in between jumps.

"He is plenty alive. The amount of strength and speed he possesses as a child is truly frightening. Just let him lay down for a bit."

Gydion raised his eyebrows and whistled at the old frogs words before once again looking down at Kagu.

"Guess I'll just leave him here then. He'll be able to find his way back."

Gydion rose to his feet and made for where he knew his charge to be.

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Kaxis found life in the Abyss tower to be refreshing. He was alone all the time and he had so much material to study that even if he spent his entire life looking into all the items here, he'd only make the tiniest fraction of a dent in the veritable infinity before him. That was fine though. If he was not to unlock the secrets of this wondrous place then his children would and if not them then their children. All that mattered was that they would have the chance to do so.

For that, he would consider himself supremely lucky. Lucky that up until now he had dealt with tragedy and hardship. In his mind, one had a certain amount of good and bad luck allotted to them at birth by the gods. He considered his life up until this point was nothing but a race to exhaust his bad luck early so that his latter years could be ones of enjoyment. And so now was to be the beginning of his years of good fortune.

The idea practically caused him to radiate happiness, at least when he was alone. He didn't particularly care for the company of others. It was too troublesome for him to handle while also trying to learn about and understand other things. And so largely his time was spent vigorously studying.

Currently, he was studying this strange new girl that had come into his life. He'd watch her from afar constantly, writing down the little things that he noticed about her here and there. Naturally, he had no interest in the girl herself. She was just a person like any other. Too much like the tumultuous waves of the sea from his earliest years of childhood. It was the peculiar parts of her appearance that caught and held his attention. Her eyes were anomalous. Disregarding the uniqueness of her iris, she had an enormous amount of mana circulating in and around them.

Of course that was just an assumption. He had no way to measure to confirm his theory, but he was sure about it in his gut. He could just… feel the pulsating energy when he was close to her. It was as if it was calling out to everyone who could feel/listen. If he studied her, surely he'd figure something out. That's what led him to his current activity as a matter of fact.

In the trees above the grove Kaxis watched Suzuka with a notepad in hand. He had been taking the time to do this every chance he had, which just so happened to be when she left the Grand Mages study. Today was more spontaneous than usual though which almost threw him for a loop. He figured it was because Kagu had taken to Suzuka for whatever reason.

"Honestly… Just mind your own damn business you dullard."

Like anyone else, he found Kagu to be a nuisance, but unlike anyone else Kagu was perhaps the most effective at getting in the way of Kaxis's many studies. As his abundance of good fortune would have it, Kagu seems to have gotten into an entanglement with the local fauna.

"Serves you right. Now Suzuka, show me your eyes."

Kaxis, who was sitting on a tree limb far above the actual ground, eagerly leaned into his gaze, watching her as she soundly slept on this strangely colored bear for hours. Maybe, just maybe, he'd see something truly amazing and all he had to continue to do was watch…

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" In other words, our time here is drawing near its end?"

"Yes, my lord."

I had not been expecting this. To hear such a revelation after centuries of peace was certainly disconcerting. With a great sigh, I stood up from my throne and walked to the back of the hall where a massive stained glass window painted the halls with color. It provided a magnificent view, Overlooking the entirety of my domain. The only other view comparable would of course be that of my onetime lover and the sponsor of little Su, Tryamon. Her tower stood in defiance of tradition at the opposite end of the Plateaus, uncloaked by nature's energy. Some call it the monument to our sins. I've always felt that to be a bit hyperbolic though. Sometimes, change is required to appropriately adapt in an ever shifting world. I shift my gaze to the largely abandoned forest glades.

"Lord Oberon?"

I can just barely see Suzuka resting with the protected animals of the groves. I've been subtly keeping watch over her stay here just in case she was perhaps some plant from those who would want to do us harm. Fortunately, it seems that is not the case. It's precisely that though that casts doubt on the words my attendant has just brought me from the Higher Houses. They carry words of destruction and cataclysm as though our species has not dealt with such events before. Claims from the would-be weavers of fate tell that Suzuka and her sponsor are blights that will engorge themselves upon the flesh of our society.

"How utterly laughable." I say aloud.

I raise my hand up to my face and feel the curves and creases form as the absurdity reverberates in my thoughts.

"It's been quite a while since I've made such a scary face." I say as I turn to my adjutant. The fear and apprehension in their face only further serves as proof. They nervously bow, breaking eye contact. I can't blame them, I'd be scared if I saw myself too.

"W-Will I bring that as your reply, my lord?"

Like their body, their voice trembled. It made me feel bad to see them in such a state so I brought both my hands to my face and gently rubbed. Within moments my vicious grin turned into one as light as the clouds that soared through the sky. I walked up to my adjutant and placed my hand on their shoulder in hopes of reassuring them.

"No. That would be silly. Tell them… Tell them that I've heard their words and will think on them."

They nodded their head and hurriedly made their exit from the throne room.

"Well that should placate those dogs for a while."

I reached inside my coat and pulled out a small orb of purplish mana. I brought the orb up to my eye and inspected it closely. It's surface was rough with crystalline bumps that seemed to survive the refining process. Still overall a beautiful item. I applied pressure to both sides of the ball and tossed it on the ground. Liquid mana oozed out of the crystalline shell, quickly taking the form of my favorite Mage.

It looked as though it was sitting down, so I assumed I had contacted her whilst she was busy with some study or paperwork. I commented on the line of thought.

"Is this a bad time to talk?"

The form shook its head.

"Good. The upper houses are saying some pretty outlandish things. They started off with the usual bit where they bashed you while also trying to convince me to exile you, but then they brought up little Su, claiming that she is going to bring calamity and death to us of the abyss."

The form looked as though it entered deep thought before replying.

"That is most certainly a grave accusation."

"It sure is, of course I can see the angle. They want me to banish you and those associated with you, but for them to bring Su into our politics… I won't allow for such things. I quite like that little girl after all."

The form chuckled.

"Yes, as do I. Thank you for looking out. I'll come by later to talk further. I'm a little busy with my research now though."

"Alright. I'll leave you to it then."

The form smiled before disintegrating into purple dust.

"Alright then. I guess I'll head to the greater houses. I've got a few words to share with them."

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