Chereads / The Pros and Cons of Immortality / Chapter 4 - A New Beginning

Chapter 4 - A New Beginning

"Goood Afternoon!" Remulus chirps as he skips beside a bed. His smile was wide as Arthur woke, his eyes watery as he rubbed the sleep off his eyes.

"What? what happened?" Arthur asks. His eyes groggy as he looks around in confusion.

"Oh, nothing. You both seem to have enjoyed your sleep. If that's any indication." Remulus points to Arthur's arms, one that covered his sister, which mewled cutely in her sleep.

"What?" Arthur whispers. "Why is she here?"

"Well, since the both of you are to be siblings, I think it is only right to have such sibling bondings." Remulus replies, his smile wide as he cooed at the little girl.

"She hates me. She literally tried to kill me."

"Oh please, she did that to me as well. It really isn't as bad as you think it is."

"I'm not her father, dumbass!"

"Shut the fuck up." Attie spoke, her eyes glaring at Arthur as she grips the edges of his clothing. The little smile on her face, leaving Remulus cooing even harder.

He then captures the two in a hug. "Group Hug! Yay!"

Attie reddens at the warmth, cuddling closer to them both. Her eyes to the side as she mutters, "Maybe I could give you a chance."

Arthur smiles. "Maybe you are cute."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"C'mon eat up, children! We'll be having a new guest here! Another sibling! And maybe a few more extras, but that's beside the point!" Remulus spins in excitement.

Arthur whispers beside him, "Do you know who he's talking about?"

Attie who was busy pouring gravy on her rice, looks up, "Huh? Who?"

"His kid that was coming over?" Arthur asks, his hand filled with food.

She looks at him, "It's probably the First President, Leonard."

"Leonard? I don't think that name's ever been a president." Arthur digs in a bit more, "And I'm confident about my knowledge on history."

"What?" Attie looks up again, a bit annoyed as gravy dripped from her mouth. "He's the First President of Aetherius."

"The what now?"

"The Empire of Aetherius! My boy!" Remulus shouts beside them, handkerchief in hand as he wipes the face of his gluttonous daughter. "C'mon Attie, I know you love gravy, but painting yourself in one isn't going to help you eat more."

"I disagree." Attie responds, taking a lick of her lips before drinking a soup of gravy.

"Wait, wait, wait. What Empire? There's not a single empire in the world right now. Where would you even put it? In space?"

The two of them stop and Remulus smiles at him. Attie laughs to herself as she pours another gravy into her meal, meanwhile ignoring the panic overcoming Arthur in his entirety.

"Are you guys serious!? Is there actually a civilization? No. A fucking Empire in space? How has no one even noticed this? Just what?"

Remulus chuckles as he rubs the boy's head, "My boy, there are gods and goddesses on this earth and this fact shocks you?"

Arthur looks at him for a minute before slumping. "Yeah, fair point."

Remulus shakes his head, "Oh, and it's not in space. It's in a different dimension, one holding immense magic and has a population of a billion people."

"Oh..... Well, I better continue eating and process this."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Welcome! To my humble abode!" Remulus shouts, arms wide as he smiles. "C'mon now, my little lion, give your dear old daddy a hug."

Arthur tries to peek over his shoulder, only for Remulus to be pushed off. A young man then comes into a view. Noticing the brown bald head shining from the light.

Only to lock eyes with said man, one whose confident gait left him nervous. He jumps up before bowing, "Hello, my name's Arthur. I like this place. I hate my bio father and I wish to be powerful."

"....." "....." "....." "....." "....."

Attie watches this before rolling in laughter. "Wow, you actually worked on your introduction this time. There's an actual structure. This is gold."

Remulus then clicks the camera in his hand. "Yes, yes, it is."

Leonard though coughs in his hand, "Uh how about we return to your lunch? I apologize for being late. There was a situation I had to deal with."

"It's fine, it's fine. The children here would enjoy their time with you." He then glances behind him. "Also, invite Maria in. It has been so long since I have seen both of you. You never visit."

Leonard nods, smirks behind him as another woman enters in quiet disgruntlement. One whose beauty left Arthur speechless, whose tanned skin shone through the light and whose waving black hair made him mesmerized. She glances around before bowing. "It has been a while. Your Majesty."

Remulus whines. "Oh c'mon." He pouts, "Always told you to call me dad."

"That is a no, your majesty." She smirks, "My marriage to him does not mean you get to force me to call you dad."

"Ah! That's so mean! I can feel my heart aching." Remulus holds his chest in mock hurt, sitting back on his chair as he spoke, "Though, a grandchild would probably make me feel better."

"No."

Remulus tsked in response before sighing, "Oh well, I tried, how about you meet my two new children instead? Attie and Arthur meet your older brother and sister-in-law."

Attie raises her hand in greeting as she drinks another cup of gravy, her mouth dripping as she nods, a stick of meat in her hands.

"It has been a while, princess. I see that you have been doing well for yourself." Maria remarks.

"My previous accommodations didn't exactly make that hard now did it?"

Maria stiffens, "Yes, of course."

Leonard then spoke, "How about you, Arthur? Has your stay here been alright? Or has there been any situation that has left you uncomfortable?"

Arthur fidgets under his gaze. "Well, there was nothing really." He glares at Remulus, a small smile on his face, "Though I did have to fight for my life."

"Welcome to the family." Leonard snorts.

Arthur grins, "Happy to be here."

Remulus wipes a tear from his eyes. "This is so nice. I'm so happy."

"Yes, how about we get to lunch instead, before you start sobbing?"

"Ok."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Leonard takes a slice off his dish before realizing something. "Where are they going to study? Princess Attie is eight, Arthur is fourteen. I can recommend them in Aetherius Uni-"

"They're not going to school."

"Excuse me?" Leonard asks, an eyebrow raised. "And what is it, then? What do you have planned for their education? You can't just put this off. Attie still has her responsibilities and God knows what Arthur would be forced to go through."

Arthur chokes on air. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, the same thing I did with you, obviously."

Leonard stops, his mouth wide open, his body shivering at the memories before he was able to mutter out, "That's..... a bit much, isn't it?"

"It isn't." Remulus smiles. "You turned out quite well, though."

"I was sixteen. Father. I don't think children should go through that."

"Oh please, the deus ex machina in their blood should suffice."

Leonard holds his head before he shivers, his eyes turns to the two confused and unsuspecting victims. "You can talk to me once it's over."

Maria notices his terrified expression before she coughs, holding back her laughter. "There was also something you wanted to share? The thing we were talking about before we left."

Leonard snaps out of it, his eyes suddenly fill with grim determination. "Yes, yes, right! Right!?" He glances at his wife as she nods. "We have something important to talk about."

Remulus nods, "Ok."

Attie and Arthur look to one another before shrugging. Apparently, Remulus still works.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Well, they're gone now." Remulus tilts his head as the door closes behind his two children. His smile wide as he asks, "So, what made you so agitated that you've gotten late?"

Leonard sighs, a small smile on his face. "You still noticed that, huh?"

"Of course, my little lion does not get late."

Maria chuckles at the thought, her ring lighting up as she spoke. "Here, should explain his reaction." Countless screens appear above her ring. "We got intel. Chaos has started moving."

Remulus' eye fleet across the screen. A smile on his face. "Chaos is always moving, that's why they're chaos. I don't know why you guys are suddenly frazzled about this."

Leonard then interjects, "It's because one of your old acquaintance has made an appearance." The screens then congregate to a single point, revealing a woman with pink hair and a seductive smile.

Remulus gives out a fond smile, "Oh please, Asmodeus always appears first. Can't help herself but be the center of attention. She's been like that even before she turned to Chaos."

He then remembers something, "Oh! Did I ever tell you how we met?"

The two look at him in deadpan as he regales them with his tale, "We met like during the height of the Roman Empire. She was still a bit of a newb-"

Leonard shouts, "Take this seriously, dammit!" He slams his fist on the table. "Chaos cannot be allowed to take hold again! As things stand, everything we built will be in danger! Everything!"

Remulus locks eyes with his son, the determination in his eyes left him happy. "I'm so glad that you think that way." His grin widens. "Maria has been a good influence on you, hasn't she?"

Leonard reddens in anger as Maria holds him back, speaking up. "Your majesty. I know that with your vast experience, this is a common occurrence. But for us, a dire situation just appeared."

Remulus then interrupts her, "So, you can't help but be agitated, correct?"

He then puts his hand over his heart. "I am aware of that and it pains my heart that you think so little of me, that's why."

He then snaps his finger and the wall shudders in response. Thousands of screens appear around them, each one bearing a name, a picture and a biography of each of chaos' agents.

"I made this dossier just for you."