Surrounded by a dark mist in absolute darkness, Arthur found himself frozen and standing before two massive red orbs twice his size.
WHROOO!
"So this the child?" Came a deep rumble of a voice that pressed just as much as it swallowed. Hearing it, Arthur's being couldn't help but tremble along with the surrounding mist.
"So it would seem." Whispered a pair of green orbs that appeared beside the red ones, though notably, they were a quarter of the red orbs' size.
"Interesting," continued the red orbs. "They say that all organisms cannot survive unless they trust and obey someone better than they are. And to escape that pressure, those who are better than others search for their superiors. Those who are superior search for even stronger individuals they can believe in. I wonder…"
"HEHEHE, mortals are such an amusing existence." Appeared a pair of yellow orbs, half the red ones' size. "They are always willing to do everything and anything for more. Even to do something like this to their own flesh and blood."
"Do you suppose that this gamble of theirs will pull off? After all, this child…" Emerged a pair of purple orbs.
"Who knows," chuckled a pair of silver orbs. "Either way, it should be entertaining."
Immediately countless colorful pairs of orbs appeared in the darkness. """"" Indeed, it should be!"""""
VOOOM!
Abruptly the solidity beneath Arthur gave away as he was swallowed by absolute darkness.
….
"WHUAA-MMPF"
Rising with a gasp, Arthur felt his gasp cut off short as his mouth smacked to something.
"MMMF!"
Eyes opened wide, Arthur's sapphire eyes stared into a pair of amber eyes, both exhibiting intense shock.
"" WAH!""
"" COUGH-COUGH-COUGH!""
"" Oh heavens, my first kiss has been robbed!""
"" Your first kiss!?""
"" My first KISS!""
"YOU! Who the fuck gets up like they've just been shocked to life!"
"ME!? YOU! Who the fuck hovers their face over a sleeping person's!?"
"You looked like you weren't breathing," began Cisse. "I got closer to make sure. How the fuck was I supposed to know you'd spring up like a resurrected corpse?"
"And I was just shocked out of a really weird dream."
Immediately a fierce staredown began as a pair of amber eyes fiercely gazed into a pair of sapphire eyes. Hmm? Was that passion in their eyes?
[*lolz…pardon the interruption, before we continue, please allow me to inform you that sadly Arthur nor Cisse will partake in the joys of the…umm male body. That is not to say that there won't be Gay, Bi, or Lesbian characters in the novel. I promise they exist, especially since we get to play with history, and let's just say history is, um..very interesting. Also, it's because of history that certain things must be at least somewhat accurate or explainable, but this is still fiction soo..…anywho, again my apologies for interrupting…carry on.]
"It's true. Arthur, your life force became barely detectable, and Cisse during this time Arthur's conscious activity very high despite the low life force." Chimed in Cal's monotonous voice as Cal floated over to the top of Arthur's head. "Also, you should refrain from using Realm Energy (RE) for a while. The RE within you is ridiculously chaotic at this moment…."
Pushing the earlier matter aside, a confused looked appeared on Arthur's face as he heard Cal's latter words. Immediately he dived into his Soul World.
Arriving in his Soul World, Arthur couldn't help but be startled. After all, he was standing on a very turbulent golden sea.
Looking around, Arthur noticed that every once a while, a small ripple would begin in a random area. As the ripples spread, their rings would continuously grow until they formed meter-tall waves that only died down when they crashed into another wave.
Pulling himself back to reality, Arthur asked Cal. "What going on?"
"You haven't adjusted to being in Pandora yet. Aegon and I went through a similar thing, but yours didn't improve but got worse. More than likely due to the large expenditure of RE you used yesterday. But you should be okay after a while of refraining from using your RE until it is fully stabilized."
"Well, that's not that bad. I thought I was dying or something."
"Aren't we all?" Sighed Cisse ruefully.
Hearing Cisse's words, Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oho, who knew that this social deviant could get philosophical?"
"Social deviant…like you are one to talk. Mr peeping tom. Who just crashes in on someone enjoying a pleasant swim. "Began Cisse. "Not to mention you dared to faint from the experience, was it that overstimulating?"
"Yo-um-wha-"
"What? Cat caught your tongue?"
"As if, and for your information, I only fainted because I was shocked at how small it was."
"Small? Must have hit your head when you fell, too…and did you just admit to being a peeping tom?"
"Ah yes, cause I would voluntarily choose to experience such a mentally scaring image."
"PFFFT-HAHAHA!"
Just as Cisse was about to respond, a burst of light laughter rang across the infirmary.
Turning their heads, both youths found Ayfia with a hand over her mouth as she leaned on a wall for support. "Fate really is a weird thing."
Catching her breath, Ayfia began to walk towards Arthur's bed.
It was also then that Arthur noticed that the once filled infirmary only had him as the current patient. "Wait, where is everyone else?"
"Oh yeah, after you passed out, a golden shockwave burst from your body – spread quite far. Afterward, we found that anyone with physical injuries was healed of their injuries. Putting one and one together, we figured that must have a result of the shockwave. Though unintentional and possibly harmful for you. Thank you nevertheless, you help a lot of people." Explained Ayfia.
"Also," continued Ayfia as she got closer to Arthur. "Since Cisse is now your brother, by extension, that would make you a son of mine, right?"
Thinking for a moment, Arthur nodded.
"Great!" Smiled Ayfia as her hand went towards Arthur's forehead.
THUCK!
Before Arthur could even react, he found his eyes staring at the infirmary ceiling as a sudden pain blossomed from between his eyebrows.
"WHAT IN PANDORA WERE YOU THINKING…."
What followed next was Arthur's first scolding in Pandora, correction first-ever scolding. During Arthur's time with the Old Man, he never really did anything "wrong" per se, and when he was ever about to go too far, a single look shut him down immediately. However, this time Arthur had to admit that this was a unique experience. His only reaction was the constant bobbing of his head whenever Ayfia stopped to verify that he understood her words. And during this midst of head bobs, Arthur occasionally snuck glances at Cisse, who suddenly found the faraway door of much interest. During these glances, Arthur noticed a dark finger-nail-sized circle between Cisse's brows - ah. Additionally, during this time, Cal had somehow made himself scarce without anyone the wiser.
Notwithstanding, it is safe to say that this was a novel experience for Arthur, one he would always remember.
"….now do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Responded Arthur meekly.
"Good." Smiled Ayfia as her earlier anger disappeared like it never existed.
Seeing this, Arthur could help but think. 'Are all mothers this scary—one minute out to kill, the next, all sweet and smiling? '
If only he knew.
…
After the storm quieted, Ayfia brought Arthur a cup of the energy juice as they all chatted laughed.
"Oh right," began Afia. "Remember earlier when you asked, why do we bother securing this region despite us not benefiting from the task much. How would you like to hear a story?'