"Hey Kiddo, come here," An older man with a salt and pepper hair color and matching beard said as he knelt down to the little boy in front of him.
The little boy was looking curiously up at the old man with his sparkling grey eyes that started to slowly turn a blue color. It was a strange phenomenon but both of the boys were long used to it.
"What is it, grandpa?" The little boy asked curiously as he held his arms up and his grandpa picked him up.
With a heave-ho, grandpa stood up and carried his grandson toward the balcony of their home. As the two of them looked at each other again, the little boy's eyes turned into a similar shade of green that the old man had.
"I wanted to ask, how much do you know about our world, Lailahar?" He asked as the two of them moved out to the balcony where they felt the cool breeze on them.
Everywhere they looked, they saw endless skies. Beautiful white clouds and exotic floating islands with waterfalls cascading downward endlessly. Down below them, was their own island, where wooden and stone structures were built next to each other.
Some houses were built into the sides of the island with pathways leading up to the top. There were a few farms on this island that may have seemed small to them but were generally the size of at least a few hundred to a thousand acres.
It was a peaceful place. One where danger never seemed to tread like it was protected by some mystical force.
This lovely town was called Nula, a simple frontier town on the edge of the Carven Empire, their home. The little boy relayed similar information but with much simpler words and big gestures.
"Lailahar is a beautiful place! Full of vast skies and huge Skylands! The people are super friendly, including all the cool Beast people!" The little boy exclaimed.
His grandpa chuckled and ruffled his light brown hair and his innocent depiction of this world. Just like in every world, there were dangers lurking around every corner, especially for a frontier town like Nula.
"That's right Cain. Our world is full of Skylands that we humans have inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years after the Great Collapse where the land below us was suddenly hurled into the sky by immense waves of mana. You know what mana is right?" Grandpa built off his grandson's thoughts while asking more questions.
"Yeah! It's super awesome energy that lets us make magic! I think that every living being has it, but I think different people have different amounts." Cain sounded a bit unsure about just how much mana people had.
"Don't worry kiddo, even I don't know everything in this world," He comforted the boy who looked down, "But you're on the right track! We can use magic thanks to the mana all living beings house in their bodies. Most people do have mana, but some more than others.
"These people generally go on to become mages for the kingdom or take on other professions that need mana to thrive. Also, different species of Beast people also have different amounts of mana in them since it all depends on their genes."
"What are jeans grandpa? The kind I'm wearing?" Cain innocently grabbed at his blue overalls, making his grandpa laugh heartily.
"No son, not those jeans. These genes are different and are hidden inside your body. It's what makes everyone unique. You don't see every person looking exactly the same right?"
"Right! I look different than grandpa and mama!" the little boy answered.
"And we are more similar to each other than we are to our neighbors the Beldors right? Since we are family after all." Grandpa finished and his grandson wiggled around in his arms in glee.
"Cain," Grandpa's voice got a bit more serious but the little boy didn't seem to notice, "Have you ever wanted to help the people of this world?"
His grandpa looked into the distance with a bit of melancholy but the young child was too naΓ―ve to notice.
"Yeah! If I can help others, then they can be happy just like mama, grandpa, and me right?"
"That's exactly right." Grandpa finally turned back to Cain and smiled.
He then brought them both back into the room and sat on a chair with Cain on one of his legs.
"What if I told you, you had the power to help people like that?" Grandpa was reluctant to say those words but ended up saying them anyway.
Cain wasn't aware of the sadness that was hidden behind his grandfather's smile, so he smiled brightly as well, explaining he was happy.
"You are a very special child Cain. Do you remember those genes we talked about? While you are similar to mama and me, you also have your own special gene that allows you to help everyone in the world! It doesn't matter if they are human or Beastmen, you can help them all."
Cain froze for a moment but then smiled brightly again. Unsure what exactly was going on, he was just happy that he could help people. Raised to be kind to others and help those who need it, he was excited just about the idea of helping everyone.
Grandpa's eyes moistened a little as his grandson danced around the room and quickly wiped away tears that formed before the kid could see. Eventually, the young boy came back over to his grandpa asking how he could help.
With a pervy grin, his grandpa put his big hand on his grandson's shoulder and chuckled.
"Kiddo, I believe that you can help those who need it the most by f*cking and impregnating them."
The little boy narrowed his eyes with a pout.
"Grandpa! That's a bad word! I'm gonna tell mama! β¦ what's inpergate??" Cain thought about running off to tattle but was more curious about the new word he learned.
"Well kiddo, has mama told you about the birds and the bees?"
After that, the grandpa and grandson talked about a topic that should not have been brought up with a young and impressionable child. He mentioned how babies were made and how to properly love a woman, or man, and treat them with care.
Grandpa said that different species had different preferences, some liked it rougher while others liked to be gentle. Luckily, hopefully, most of the information went in one ear and out the other for the young boy.
He wasn't sure what his grandpa was talking about, but he was smiling the whole time so it must have been something exciting. Still not sure what he was getting into, he said he would 'bad word' and impergerate all the people of this world so they were happy.
His grandfather heartily laughed again, making the little boy giggle before they went downstairs to see his mother.
"Mama! I'm gonna inpomegranate all the people in the world so they are happy!" Cain yelled out while his mother looked at him confused.
She then narrowed her brow and glared at her father with her beautiful sky blue eyes. Grandpa swallowed nervously and wiped some sweat off his brow, knowing he was in deep shit.
Promising to 'talk' to her father later, his mother smiled beautifully at her son.
"Well, I'm very glad you will be helping others. I'm sure they will appreciate it very much!" She spoke softly and petted his hair.
Cain dug his face into her stomach, feeling her warmth and innocently touching her butt. He was just a child so he didn't know what he was doing, but his mother sighed in her heart, getting the feeling he would grow up to be a pervert just like her father.
After Cain depicted his day today, where he went to play with the other kids and helped a few people out, he then talked about jeans and f*cking that his grandpa talked about with him.
Try as he might, grandpa couldn't get the kid to shut up and his daughter stared daggers at him. He was sure she would have killed him if her son wasn't in the room.
After Cain went to bed that night, Grandpa got a huge scolding from his daughter and several slaps or punches. He took it like a champ, knowing he would just get in more trouble if he fought back.
When his daughter finally calmed down a bit, the conversation took a darker turn.
"Do you still want to send him away?" Grandpa asked his daughter carefully as he knelt down on the ground black and blue.
He looked at his daughter who has slightly turned away from him. With the moon reflecting off her pure white hair, he could catch a sorrowful look on her face.
"It's not that I want to," She tried to remain serious but didn't turn around to hide the tears forming in her eyes, "but I need to. We both know that the situation in our world is a lot worse than it looks on the surface.
"Mana is drying up for some reason in certain regions, forcing Beastmen to migrate to other places, only making it more crowded and difficult for people to live normal lives. There's higher activity amongst the high-level monsters in every corner of the world and the war with Sorvent only makes it harder on everyone.
"It will only get worse from here, but now I'm forced to make a choice that contradicts my beliefs as a mother and a High Priestess..."
Her father got up and gave her a hug as she started breaking down. There were many secrets the two had that they couldn't tell Cain, mostly because he wouldn't understand and it would only harm him in the future.
Eventually, with a little more talking, the two went to bed and began spoiling Cain as much as possible until his fateful day came.