Rainbow

"Was this too much for you folks?"

Cerebius, Klubius, David, Henry and Harold stared at Zverius with a mixture of surprise and confusion clearly written on their faces. Cerebius was the first one to speak.

"You never told me about this, Zverius."

Zverius shrugged nonchalantly and replied.

"You never asked me about this, Cerebius."

Cerebius's face twitched in annoyance, after a few moments he just sighed in exasperation and shook his head in disbelief. David was still in reverie, lost in his chain of thoughts. If god was an Evyryne then it means that they were a spell too but if they were a spell then who was the caster? Who created the spells and techniques? What was the origin of crimson energy and dark crimson energy? David was again met with no answers but only numerous brainstorming questions. Finally, he couldn't help but ask Zverius with curiosity gushing over his face.

"Explain this, Zverius!"

Zverius looked at David with a bright smile but soon he glanced at Harold with a wide grin. When he did, everyone else noticed that Harold was awake or perhaps he was listening to all of this while pretending to be asleep.

'Tsk Tsk! Such a sly bastard.'

David thought inwardly, Harold looked at them with an expression that was full of fear and confusion but curiosity glistened in it too. Harold soon looked around himself and noted that this was the same grassland which he saw in his repetitive nightmares, remembering those eerie ordeals sent shivers down to his spine, then he glanced at Klubius who was staring at him with a neutral expression. Harold then glanced at Zverius but he saw nobody then he felt that someone was sitting beside him, he turned around and noticed Zverius who was sitting beside him with sheer enthusiasm on his countenance.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Zverius and don't worry I'm the friendliest guy in this world, believe it!"

Harold looked at Zverius nervously but soon he calmed himself down, he also felt that he had read this line somewhere before but he didn't quite remember, Harold also noted that Zverius looked a lot like Klubius but their demeanors were polar opposites of each other. Klubius was very hostile, unfriendly, serious and brimming with hatred whereas this guy looked friendly, pleasant to talk with and brimming with joy and humour. His violet eyes were captivating and filled with full of hope and kindness, his voice was pleasant and mesmerizing too. Everything about him was nice but that also made him kind of annoying for Harold but still he believed that atleast Zverius would not strangle him. Overall, he could be trusted.

"Uh...nice to meet you...I guess. I'm Harold Carter."

Zverius grabbed Harold's right hand with his own which startled Harold slightly but he didn't show it, Zverius shook their hands energetically with a welcoming smile on his face.

"I like your auburn hair and coffee brown eyes, Harold. You have a hidden charm, you know that?"

Harold blinked a couple of times and a frown appeared on his face.

'He is awfully bright, I just look average. Maybe this is his way to show me pity for my average looks. It's never nice to have a handsome friend.'

Harold pouted in his thoughts while a forced smile replaced his frown, he replied with slight envy.

"Thank you...uh...you look handsome too."

Zverius blinked a couple of times but then he patted Harold's back with a grin and said:

"Yeah I know that but I appreciate your effort to remind me of my elegance."

'This guy is a narcissist...seems like he'll be a pain in the butt.'

Harold sighed in dejection as he grimaced in his thoughts. While everbody was looking at Harold with mixed feelings, Henry was looking at him with a seed of doubt in his head. He lingered for a few moments and asked indifferently:

"You sure don't look like you were suffering from depression, do you?"

Harold looked at Henry who was staring at him with a calm but a dubious expression, Harold shifted uncomfortably and tried to avoid Henry's gaze by looking below, towards the grass. Harold's confidence was gone a long time ago when he realised that he didn't excel at anything particular. He was mediocre at everything which was teached in the school. He wasn't good looking or good at socializing. He was an empty shell who had nothing to offer besides money so he just did his best to sustain himself socially and mentally in this world. Whereas, Henry was an elite at everything which was teached at school: academics, sports, music, art, martial arts and cooking. He even looked better than Harold, Henry was also from a well to do family so the idea of money didn't entice him. That's why Harold always ignored Henry even though Henry never outright secluded him but he wasn't welcoming either. Therefore, Harold preferred to maintain his distance away from Henry.

Henry on the other hand deemed Harold unfathomable, his behaviour especially. Even if he wasn't talented still he could've atleast worked hard on everything that he lacked but Harold chose to use his lack of talent as a reason for his failure which pissed Henry off. However, since Harold himself didn't care about his own life then why should Henry either? That's why Henry chose to remain ignorant...until now.

Since, Harold was the vessel of Klubius so it was foolhardy to remain ignorant anymore. The world was going to change because the Prince of Calamities had been reincarnated. And he was not someone to be taken lightly at all. So Harold had to change his feeble ignorant mindset to a responsible one because Klubius was definitely going to be a major part of the events which were about to unfold in the future and Henry absolutely believed that they had a part to play in it too because Zverius wouldn't waste his time to explain all of this to mere teenagers if they were insignificant in the upcoming future events.

Harold finally gathered some courage to speak up but before he could Cerebius interrupted and pinched Henry with a frown on his face. Henry remained perturbed, maintaining his calm expression but then he said nonchalantly.

"It hurts a little bit, Cerebius."

"So you do feel pain, don't you?"

Cerebius asked mirthlessly with a deadpan expression, Henry met his gaze with a calm and confident one of his own and then answered indifferently.

"Yes, I do."

Cerebius stared at Henry with an unreadable expression and then said:

"Don't hurt others if you don't want to be hurted yourself. Inflicting pain on others just triggers a cycle of vengeance."

Henry narrowed his eyes while a frown appeared on his face, he wanted to retort but before he could Cerebius spoke again.

"Everyone is different, Henry. You can't call a rainbow beautiful if it has only one colour."

Suddenly a feeling of warmness settled in Henry's heart when he heard Cerebius, his words were laced with kindness and warmth. Henry was reminded of what his mother used to say when he questioned her that everyone was different. He was just a small kid, who was brimming with curiousity and innocence. His mother also said something similar to answer his question.

'A rainbow is beautiful because it has different colours together in it, just like that this world is only beautiful because it has different kinds of people.'

He was reminded of a heartwarming memory and due to that he understood what message Cerebius wanted to convey to him. Henry realized his mistake and then he turned to Harold and said with a little remorse.

"I'm sorry, Harold. It must've been tough."

Harold looked at Henry with little bewilderness, he never expected Henry to behave remorsefully. He always thought that Henry was a prideful human, who always believed that he was right. But maybe there was always a first time for everything. No matter how much surprised Harold was, he still accepted Henry's sincere apology.

'I guess Henry isn't that bad.'

Harold thought with a slight smile on his face.

"Harold, I can't hope to forgive you but I hope to become your acquaintance."

Harold's complexion paled as he heard the familiar voice which filled him with dread, he shivered as he looked at the source of voice. He saw a Zarden who was staring at him with a stern expression, he had sky blue hair and menacing crimson eyes with sharp vertical eye slits within them, a mark which resembled fire was engraved on his face. It was Klubius, a creature who turned his life into a hell. Harold felt the trauma seeping into his mind which made his breathing heavy and drops of sweat started rolling down from his paled face. Harold was about to pass out from the unbearable trauma but suddenly he felt that he was in solace, Harold found himself being warmly embraced by Zverius in a tight hug. Harold was shocked at first but the sense of solace he discovered in Zverius's hug was very welcoming. After a minute of tight hugging Harold muttered awkwardly.

"Thank you, Zverius."

Zverius suddenly realized that maybe he made Harold feel uncomfortable so he quickly let Harold go and then Zverius cleared his throat and said energetically:

"Klubius won't trouble you anymore so rest easy. He might not look like it but he's an obedient little brother."

Zverius then threw a somber glance at Klubius which made Klubius gulp in nervousness, seeing this Harold chuckled softly and looked at Klubius with barely suppressed fear and said:

"I look forward to being your acquaintance."

Klubius nodded without any particular expression, after a few moments of pleasantness the atmosphere returned back to the serious and somber one. Everyone looked at Zverius with tense and stern expressions.

"You better explain us about the Evyrynes."

David gazed at Zverius with somber intensity, Zverius nodded and said:

"That's what I intend to do."

However, before Zverius could begin his explanation, he was interrupted by Harold's question.

"How am I still alive and what happened to me after my attempted suicide...wait...I'm not dead already, am I?"

To be continued....