~Chapter 20~
~as hard as rock~
In the mountain stood another striking object—a golden chair that looked very similar to the one we saw in Hephaestus' tree home.
"Don't sit on that chair," Hephaestus said with a sly smile. "No matter what you do. It's meant for someone else."
The chair was beautiful, crafted from solid gold and adorned with diamonds and rare gems.
"So, if this is your actual home," Melody asked while perched on Hephaestus' head, "why did we meet you at the treehouse?"
"Well…" Hephaestus scratched his head, chuckling. "It does get a tad hot in here, and sometimes I need fresh air—a change of scenery." His booming laugh echoed through the cavern.
"Makes sense to me," Melody said, giggling.
Meanwhile, Eliza and I sat near the lava, poking it with sticks. "Hey Maddox," she said thoughtfully, "Lilith told me about your Palm Casting, and I've had a question ever since." She tapped her lips, lost in thought.
"Yeah? What is it?" I asked, curious.
"Well," she began, "I know you have your weird shadow… tentacles and your ice magic, which you can control pretty well in its released form."
"Go on," I said, raising an eyebrow.
"But what about the other elements? Back at the orphanage, you made water that you froze, which explains why you can use second-tier water magic, like ice. But isn't the whole benefit of Palm Casting that you can use all the elements—like fire and stone?"
I scratched my head, embarrassed. "Yeah, you're right, but…"
"But what?" Eliza asked, her eyes locked on mine.
"Well…" I sighed. "Honestly, switching between elements quickly makes my head spin. I'm terrible at controlling the others."
"The great Devil Maddox Tentacle McGee gets overwhelmed?" she teased, bursting into laughter.
"Stop calling them tentacles!" I snapped, my face flushing with annoyance. "I won't tolerate this!"
"I won't tolerate this," she repeated in a mocking voice, giggling.
"Look," I said, trying to steer the conversation back. "Ice is solid and predictable. If I want to summon an ice spike, it works perfectly. If I want to freeze the ground, it's simple. But with wind and fire… they're too chaotic, too unpredictable." I stared at my hands, frustrated.
Suddenly, Melody launched herself off Hephaestus' head, flying toward us like a missile. She headbutted Eliza in the stomach, slowing her momentum.
"Melody!" Eliza shouted, clutching her stomach. "I swear, if you do that one more time, I'll beat you—hands or no hands!" She coughed, glaring at Melody.
"I have an idea, Maddox!" Melody said, completely ignoring Eliza. "You like that ice is sturdy and solid, right? It does exactly what you want it to do?"
"Yeah…" I said, nodding as I listened.
"Then why not slow down and focus on one element at a time? Earth would make the most sense—it's solid like ice, right?" She grinned proudly.
I blinked, surprised. "Huh… I've never actually thought about that."
"Or," she teased, "you could just be lazy and stick with your shadow tentacles." She flipped backward into the air, landing back on Hephaestus' head.
"They're not tentacles!" I shouted, beyond annoyed. "And I'm not lazy!"
Eliza snickered. "The mountain goat has a point, though, Maddox."
Melody stuck her tongue out at Eliza, laughing.
"Damn, she gets on my nerves," Eliza muttered, pulling at her hair in frustration.
I couldn't help but laugh a little. It was nice to see them getting along… sort of. "Yeah, you're right," I said, thinking. "For defense, stone is definitely stronger than ice. I'll give it a try—and I'll completely master it!" I grinned confidently.
"My defense will be as solid as rock!" I shouted, raising my fist in the air.
"Good luck with that," Eliza said, laughing. "But that speech was lame as hell."
"What?!" I said, deflated, my ego crumbling.
Eliza walked off to join Hephaestus and Melody, still giggling.
"So, how is this going to work?" Melody asked Hephaestus.
"Well—"
"Will I have super badass arms made of stone?!" Melody interrupted, bouncing with excitement. "Or maybe rocket arms that can shoot stuff?!"
"Or even better crab hands." she jumped with joy "crab hands to crush my enemies!"
"Calm yourself," Eliza said, bopping her on the head. "We already have Mr. Tentacles over there. That's enough weirdness."
At this point, I was too defeated to argue.
Hephaestus chuckled. "If you must know, I'm very interested in the craftsmanship of your legs. I'll replicate that to the best of my ability—but don't worry, I'll add my Hephaestus charm to it."
"Hell yeah!" Melody shouted.
Hephaestus turned to me, his expression serious. "Now, about our deal…"
"I know," I said, reassuring him.
"Young Melody will need to stay here for obvious reasons," he said. "That leaves you and Eliza."
"Yeah, I figured," I replied.
"What?!" Melody exclaimed, upset.
"You have no arms, mountain goat," Eliza teased, laughing.
Melody jumped off Hephaestus' head again, diving straight for Eliza and landing on her head.
"Maddox, I'm going to destroy her!" Eliza yelled, trying to lunge at Melody as I held her back, barely suppressing my laughter.
"We should get going, Eliza," I said, pulling her away.
Melody grinned mischievously. "My bad. Us mountain goats have bad habits," she said, sticking out her tongue.
"Why, you little—" Eliza growled.
"We'll take care of Kang," I reassured Hephaestus.
"Melody, stay," I ordered firmly.
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Thank you," Hephaestus said, he laughed. "Give him hell!"