Chapter 8: The calm

We are greeted by four of my besties. Two blurbs of green flurry rush to Dior to embrace her. The two identical twins, Tia and Tito, are a frenzied ball of energy.

Behind them is little Aki and Panpun. Aki tilts his head upwards at me nonchalantly with his arms crossed up behind his head, Panpun follows his lead. He likes to pretend he isn't excited to see me.

"Stand proud bro, I've arrived", I tell Aki. He rolls his eyes. Panpun again follows.

Panpun is a baby pinewolf ghoul that we rescued a few months ago. At first we all were weary of Aki's decision to raise it. He found the hatchling nibbling on cabbages in an abandoned farm field, and he's been attached ever since.

As long as he feeds it cabbages, it doesn't seem to have acquired a taste for human flesh. Panpun is hard to pet, because his white fur is made of iron porcupine needles, but the anatomy of his shape has a resemblance to a dog. A small dog, although it still has time to grow.

Aki is the oldest boy in the orphanage when I leave. I'm sixteen, and he doesn't fall too far behind at the ripe age of fourteen.

The two twins are twelve. They both stand out from the rest of the kids because they choose to dye their hair green.

Tito and Tia both have long hair, although Tito is a dude; the only distinction between them is that Tito likes to wear his hair tied up while Tia wears hers down.

"You guysss! Tito and I made the most wonderful dish! I can't wait for you guys to try it. Come quick, hurry up!" Tia drags Dior and Tito pushes her towards the mess hall cottage. 

I give Aki a questioning look.

"It's shark-squid ghoul meat, nobody else wanted to finish it, I wouldn't get excited. They just want you guys to not let it go to waste." Aki winks.

"That's my man, keeping watch over the kids while I'm gone, reporting back duty about the important things. You're going to be a great leader some day."

"I'm already the strongest here. I bet I could take you if I really needed to. Once Panpun grows larger, I plan to take on all the shepherds. My pet ghoul will rival any one of those abyss scoundrels." Panpun barks enthusiastically at Aki's remark.

He rolls up his sleeve and flex's his arm to demonstrate his confidence. I roll my eyes and tousle Aki's dim orange hair. He may think he's stronger but he's still shorter than me. I'm happy to have a fellow shorter king around.

When we enter the mess hall, I encounter numerous greetings. To these kids we're their hero's. To me they are my family, the ones that keep me going. The ones that are motivating me to accept Zara's dream. Now Dior's dream.

Their laughter fills the halls with life. The smell of the interesting dish that brews in the kitchen makes my stomach lurch.

Under this bubble, in these scattered cozy cottages, with my friends and people; lies my happiness. This little life of mine is about to be ripped from me.

All for the ambition of another's dream. All because I harbor great power. With responsibility comes unwanted power.

Dior looks over her shoulder as the kids drag her into the kitchen. Her beautiful eyes are brimming with tears. I can tell sense her joy and sadness.

She knows this will be a moment to savor. One of our last moments home. I wish I could form a tighter bond, create that same intimate tether I had to the handsome devil, with these kids before I go.

That synthetic bond doesn't hold a fraction of the real bond I share to these kids though. We've grown along side each other. Surviving the abyssal creatures, and building a small semblance of a peaceful haven together.

I look to Aki's small frame. He is young, arrogant, and makes me reminiscent of a little version of myself. No, that's not right.

He is far braver than I am. Perhaps it is because he has yet to experience the harrowing abyss. Stepping a foot into that nightmare can cause anyone to be spiked with fear.

Ruins of the mystical Atlanic's cities, ghouls the size of buildings, shepherds that orchestrate monsters to swarm at you in droves; that is only a sliver of what the abyss will throw at someone who choses to challenge it.

"What are you staring at? Did ya miss me that much Tyde?", Aki sneers.

I'm going to miss him. I can't bring myself to tell him that so instead I tackle him. The act catches him by surprise but he's had to wrestle me a thousand times.

What are older brothers for if not to teach their inferior lil bros to fend for themselves. A little rough housing has always been my favorite past time.

He struggles to dig his heels into the ground as I position my self under his knees. My arms clasp around the back and I lift his tiny frame into the air. 

Panpun bites my ankle. My skin is impenetrable, but my pain receptors still work, and the little munchkin has a death grip jaw on him.

I let out a pretend whimper and choose to drop Aki. They still don't know about my blessing, I'm not about to drop my secret over a petty quarrel. 

As Aki gains his stance back, the intricate marking of a flying boar (of the demon of gluttony) on his neck glows green. The air grows denser. My heart skips a beat.

"Aki... what did I say about using your blessing."

"All is fair in love and war."

The force of a thousand tons hit my chest in an instant, but I bear it and pretend to get knocked on the ground. Aki levitates over me and lets out a mocking laugh.

This kid's blessing is too overpowered. I bet his curse must be worse than mine. Not being able to nut is extremely difficult and a harsh curse, but for him to be able to bend the density of anything around him at will, Aki had to have gone through some traumatic stuff.

They say the more trauma you go through, the more powerful demons will approach you with a covenant. It's the opposite for a gods contract. The more unblemished, pure, and desirable of a candidate you are, the more powerful gods will approach you.

Just as I'm about to denounce my secrecy and stand up to teach this brat a lesson, Aziel appears between us.

A tall lanky figure, adorned with shiny precious metals and glowing runes all over his body, separates the tension between Aki and I.

He is the keeper of the orphanage, the creator of the globe tech that protects us, creator of the boards we surf on, and the wise geezer that raised all the outcasts of the abyss. 

Aziel, the android monk that freed his people from the peakies and choose to dedicate his life to adopting the forsaken kids of the abyss; radiates his domineering presence and the room is dead silent.

His gentle synthetic voice booms out as his glossy machine eyes studies our faces.

"Dior and Tyde, we have a lot to discuss. Come to my office at once. Time is of the essence."

Dior turns to give me a questioning look. She shoots a mental message to me using the third eye.

"Do you think he knows?" her tone is brimming with nerves.

"I... don't know. He does have his drones scanning our scavenging missions. I wouldn't be surprised." I reply with a tinge of concern.

We both follow behind the sentient robot. He was our father figure growing up. Even as a robot with his gentle demeanor and resilience in leadership, he built this place from the ground up.

I have immense respect for him, as do all the kids; but something feels off about him today. If he knows of our plan to leave, to abandon our home, things might get uncomfortable. Without his blessing, it can prove to be difficult to leave.