Chapter 399: Learning to Learn

Early Afternoon - Mid Winter : The Cabinet | Bahamut

-----

- Krystallo Ragnarok ~

"So, he was normal up until you asked him about the visions he has?"

Quickly nodding, I looked up at Brother with a somewhat distressed expression. "When I asked about the visions, his whole character shifted... It was like he suddenly sank into insanity..." Grimacing as I thought back to my interview with him, Brother instantly wrapped me in his aura.

"So it's a complete shift... Interesting... I wonder if it's not just multiple personalities..." Speaking barely above a mumble for a moment, he gave it thought before turning to me. "I'll go check him out for you, alright?"

"B-But can I come?" Realizing I spoke without thinking, I quickly went to retract my words, only to be met by the tip of Brother's wing pressing into the top of my head.

"Of course, I just can't promise that what you want to happen, will."

Quickly nodding, I hopped up onto my feet with a mix of excitement and anxiety churning my stomach.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Brother was someone I trusted more than the world, but if he said that Diaforoi was indeed dangerous like Mother had been trying to say.. I wasn't sure how I'd respond.

But thankfully, or perhaps unfortunately, their interaction wasn't nearly as simple as I imagined.

"My name is Vasilias," Entering the room in a shrunken version of his draconic form, he spoke with an alluring calmness and warmth like Mother. "What's yours?"

Looking up at Brother with a bright gleam in his eyes, Diaforoi spoke excitedly. "D-Diaforoi! My name is Diaforoi!"

Smiling, Brother quickly found a place to sit on the opposite end of the table, leaving me in the doorway behind a wall of light magic to watch. "It's nice to meet you. Do the other 'you' share that name as well?"

Tilting his head to think, he didn't show even a hint of skepticism before shaking his head.

"Do you perhaps know their names?"

"Hm..." Tilting his head again, the look in his eyes seemed to shift before his normal childishness returned. "I forgot it!"

Brother's tail quickly curled. "It?"

Hastily nodding, he looked up at Brother with a bright smile. "They are one! They don't have multiple names.. or at least, that's how they used to be." Trying to recall memories one more time, he somewhat nervously tapped his foot and looked up at the ceiling.

But he wasn't given much time to think. "What do you mean by used to?" Speaking warmly once more, Brother continued probing him.

"Uh.. before me." He seemed uncertain how to word it.

I didn't get it either, but Brother was quick to respond. "I see. Can you recall anything else about them 'before you'?"

-What is that supposed to mean...- The longer they talked the more they seemed to speak in their own language.

But every time, Diaforoi understood the questions. "They were a big dragon! The size of a huge tower! And were always covered in beautiful jewels."

"I see..." Pausing, Brother looked him in the eyes for a moment before bringing a smile back to his face. "How do you recall those details? Are they like a memory, or a vision?"

"Hmm.. more like a memory."

Having some kind of realization, he quickly relaxed. "I see, thank you for your honesty..." But it didn't take long for things to become tense. "Now, how about Krystallo? What do the other you think of her?"

"They think she's precious!"

Feeling my cheeks warm as a smile spread across my face, he continued.

"Although sometimes, they tell me to be cautious of her."

-Huh?- Feeling my breathing stop for a moment, the gentle curl in my tail relaxed.

"Why is that?"

Hesitating as he looked up at Brother, he spoke unusually cautiously. "They.. are afraid of you."

"Do you know why?"

Quickly shaking his head, his whole demeanor darkened. "N..No... We can't remember why..."

-Remember...- As my mind started piecing together the endless pieces of the puzzle, I felt my thoughts race.

But Brother's response caught me a little off guard. "Don't feel bad, I can understand why they fear me.. however..." Pausing again, his expression darkened slightly. "Krystallo said you've been suffering from visions."

He instantly jolted.

"If you want me to help you with those, I can."

Diaforoi's face instantly washed with fear as he rushed backward, pinning himself against the wall.

That was when Brother's demeanor shifted, no longer forcing a smile for Diaforoi's comfort. "Looks like you really are afraid of me..." Reaching out his paw, pointing a claw at Diaforoi, he spoke somewhat curiously. "I'm going to help you, but before I do, I want to ask.. does the name Lernaean ring a bell?"

Diaforoi's face instantly drained of emotion as his eyes went wide.

"What a lucky kid, you are." *Vwoom* Brother's mana immediately flooded the room before suddenly.. *Snap* With the sound of a gentle pop, Diaforoi limply collapsed to the ground.

-H..Huh..?- It took me a moment to even realize what happened.

But when I did, my pupils dilated. "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" Bolting out from behind the veil of light magic, I went to run up to Diaforoi, only to be caught and lifted into the air by Brother's aura. "What are you doing?! Let me down now!"

"Krystallo," Forcing me to stop squirming, Brother made me look up at him. "You know you rushing out here only made me more likely to make a mistake, right?"

Suddenly going pale, I completely stopped trying to fight back.

"If you even grazed his body, he could've really died." Finally setting me down, he gave me a somewhat cold look. "I don't know what has you so attached to this kid, if things go well, he'll end up being a good friend, but for now, keep your distance."

"Huh..?" Unable to pull my eyes off him, I watched as he motioned in a guard that was on standby before ordering him to give Diaforoi a room here at the cabinet and to confine him to it. "But.. why..?" -The talk went well.. right?-

"When he wakes up, he might not be the little kid you remember anymore, and until his condition stabilizes, you can't meet him directly."

-W..what does that mean...- At the time I didn't understand.

As I watched Diaforoi's limp body get carried out of the room, I didn't have any words. I was simply stunned by confusion...

In hopes of finding comfort, I went to Mother, but she didn't have any to give. Brother had already spoken to her about it, and ever since, she started referring to Diaforoi like he was someone old.

It was weird.. he was a kid after all...

Or at least that's what I tried to tell myself until the day we met again.

-----

Mid Afternoon - Early Winter : The Cabinet | Bahamut

- Vasilias Ragnarok ~

-To think something like that was possible...- Thinking to myself as I left my meeting with the child named Diaforoi, I took to the air before suddenly jumping through the void to Emporio.

It had been about a week since Father woke up at that point, but since he was taking a bit longer than I expected to get his hand on thruster magic and oxygen accumulation, we had returned to Bahamut.

Mother had begun easing him back into things, showing him everything he missed while he tried to get better at the magic I was teaching him. But while Mother was with him, I had some free time, so I took a moment to help Krystallo, only to unknowingly catch myself in an odd predicament. -To think that kid is a reincarnated hydra...-

*Vwoop* Popping out of the void over Emporio, I made my way toward the thunderbirds 'Branch', where Hera was, in order to talk to her about hydras to try and get a better idea of how exactly they worked.

But Hera was in the same boat as me. "That's possible?" Giving me a dumbfounded look as she pulled herself away from the thunderbird captain, she motioned him away. "I would have expected hydras to have more explicitly split souls considering how they act."

I was quick to shake my head. "His soul is completely smooth, without any divides, yet not only has he mentioned other 'voices' in his head, he said they don't go by his name, but by a name 'they' forgot." -It's really odd...- They acted like they were somehow divided, yet still one consciousness. -They just haven't meshed with the kid yet is what it looks like...- "Anyway, I was coming to you to see if you knew anything about the traditions of the hydras that could lead to souls blending like that."

"Hm..." Sitting down to think, she looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "They did have some odd traditions when it came to hatching, but I can't remember the details, unfortunately... I remember them syncing their hatches with the prayers at the Tree of Prayer, but I can't remember the details."

-I wonder why...- Thinking I would head to Siratha and spend the rest of my evening looking into it while Father was occupied with Mother, I turned around, ready to leave, only to have Hera wrap her tail around mine.

"Where are you going?" Looking back at me, she gave me a slightly disappointed pout.

"I was gonna head to Siratha for the evening to see if they have any information on it. What's the matter?"

"I was wondering when you wanted to reintroduce me to your Father since you said his memories are jumbled... I've been wrapped up lately, but it's not like I can't make time."

-Ah, right...- I had completely forgotten that they hadn't met. "I'm planning to take him up to repair the Acardi satellites with me in a few weeks, if-"

"And you didn't invite me?" Turning around and walking over to me, she pressed herself into my side. "I'm disappointed... You know I'd want to do something like that."

"Ack-" Tensing up and averting my eyes, I did what I could to avoid her gaze. "I was going to! I just got sidetracked..."

"Uh-huh..." Giving me a glare for a moment, she slowly pulled herself away while gently caressing my side with her tail. "It's good for you two to have some father-son time, so don't worry about it. Just tell me when you want me to meet him and I'll make time, okay?" Giving me a joyful smile as she walked away, my heart eased.

"Then make time in two and a half weeks. I need to make sure Father won't suffocate or float off into space while we're up there..."

Watching her suddenly tense, an awkwardness blew across my face.

-Ah...- "You.. don't know how to do thruster magic either, do you..."

Instantly whipping her head around, her eyes locked on me with a bright gleam in them. "Nope, you need to teach me! I'll make time right now!" *VWOOM* Her aura instantly slammed down around us as the thunderbirds watching us from some distance all scattered.

"Haha, you know you just had to ask if you wanted to know, right?" As she quickly turned around and got close to me again, I felt my cheeks warm.

But, as expected, she learned it almost instantly, leaving me to teach her other spells I thought were good to know as an excuse to spend a bit more time with her.

And it made for a good evening, for both her and I, eventually leading to a new part of my routine.

Whenever I had free time, I would spend it with her, for the entire two and a half weeks that Father was being reintegrated into society.

It was a truly lovely few weeks, but unfortunately, it did eventually have to come to an end.

And the day I was going to reintroduce Father to her before we went up to work on the satellites arrived.

-----

Read up to 5 chapters ahead of schedule, and get early access to artwork on My Patreon!

(In case Embedded Link doesn't work: https://www.patreon.com/TDOD )

-------------

Also, please feel free to check out our discord for all updates related to TDOD releases! https://discord.gg/Dv7G5bQD4v

All are welcome!

---

Also if you are looking for a new story, check out my new novel! The System's Harvester

On RR and SH