《Prince of Madness: Meteor Shower》


 Chapter_1://D茅racin茅

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    Prince?f Madness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_1://D¨¦racin¨¦


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    It was a very humid night with no winds. My clothes were heavy and stained with blood. I was kneeling and clutching the edge as I stared down at the lively city making it rain with my despair. I screamed, begged and even prayed to any sort ofdeity to come and save me. It doomed me to think thatnothing happens in the afterlife and that everything I am trying to do is pointless. It was the night of the rapture and the hunters were after us, slaughtering and eating each andevery one they deemed unworthy of life. They kept track of us with those devil devices around our necks and wrists. I clutched my neck brace device in my shaky hands but there was no way I could spring it loose, neither did my wrist band wanted to cooperate. Obviously the devices were fused with the skin to avoid accidental slip offs. I used a heavy glass shard I found lying around the roof and dug it deep into, and under my skin. It was too painful and the only way to remove it was to chop off my forearm and hope I didn¡¯t die from exsanguination. The thought of having the same issue with my neck brace was literally decapitating myself and for that I rather just find a better and quicker and less painful alternative all together to free myself from this nightmare.


    I only had two choices: let the hunters dispose of me, or, to experience flight and die when I hit the ground. Death was inevitable, and my brain tried to convince me to survive, perhaps if I left the city I would be able to escape and find a way out of these binds with someone willing to help me I knew deep down that would never work. I was crying the entire time I thought about it. I stood on the ledge ready to just fall, I could hear distant screams of the victims. I reallywanted it to end, I was willing to submit myself to them.


    An arrow ascended from the city below and pierced my chest. I was surprised at how painless it felt. I think when you lose so much blood you feel light-headed and your senses don''t register properly. I was glad I couldn¡¯t feel it.


    The angel floated before me ready to aim another arrow to finish meoff, suddenly, her head was sliced off and mercury drained from her open neck. I was breathing softly watching the angel descend to the bottom and from behind my head, stood a red-headed man wearing a clear gown and black leather shorts. He held a ring blade dripping with metallic fluid. He spun the blade around his wrist; the liquid flew off the golden bladeand it shrunk into a bracelet. The red head had evident traces of circular bruising and scarring around his neck, wrist and ankles. His skin was pale and sickly, under the bright light of the blood moon his skin sparkled almost like if he had scales. His hair was fairly long but knotted and matted. He resembled a hunter which freaked me the fuck out. I didn¡¯t think they would attack each other or one would go haywire.


    No one knew who he is or where he came from, but something inside me was grateful he exists. Well¡­ Kind of.


    That smile of his threw me off. It was serene and peaceful but after staring at him, because I was slowly dying all I could do was analyze him, I knew thatlook anywhere. The fake smile, the wet cheeks and bloodshot eyes, it was as if I was looking into a mirror.


    Whoever he was, he too was suffering internally. He kneel beside me and held me with gentle care and with mighty force he ripped off the arrow from my chest and placed a hand on my wound. I cried out in pain thinking he will finish me offwith his sadistic methods I prayed not to witness. But he didn''t, he healed me with his strange powers instead. It was a cold and tingly sensation thatI grew addicted to; it was pure life. I was overwhelmed with the feeling thatI cried again. He laughed while shedding a few tears of his own and said: "I will sing for you. Would you like me to end your nightmare...?" I nodded, I didn''t know what he was talking about but during my delirium I understood him, and during that state of euphoria I fell in love. I slept soundly that night, and I knew thatwhenever I heard his lullaby I had good dreams. Well... that night specifically I had a dream that, that boy who saved me walked with me to the edge of the universe to meet his godfather. It was fucking strange... A monster with feathers... He was nice. He touched me with his long ass fingers. I don''t remember much of that acid trip, because after that horrible experience I was reprogrammed and most of what I saw that night was buried deep in the back of my mind, but I will never forget that boy.


    After that I lived alone in a dorm room. I continued my life as if the event never happened. It was a lonely life after what happened. The only reminder of who I was is in the imprint on the back of my neck. I have a bar code with my full identification engraved in it, C-DW-0371. It is hard to pronounce. I really don''t understand why we were tagged that way, it is inhuman and silly, Just call me Josiah Farnsworth. I was just a punk that attended school like any other kid my age. I had black hair and black eyes, and I wore my teal jacket uniform with every single badge of every class I mastered. I was a few badges away from promoting to Medic. Ironically... I hate dealing with people but I genuinely like medicine. I reallylike it. It doesn''t feel like a chore. I am genuinely happy with what I do.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Many of us doctors in training have a keen sense of smell to find a specific abnormality in the body but I am the only one that can smell conception. Yes, I can smell a conception. They smell like flowers. You might be thinking: how could I tell the difference? Well, once the child grows the scent disperse and depending on the diet and environment, they develop a specific scent. The normal thing to happen to a person. I found out this talent because many of my female classmates smelled like it when they got pregnant, and once they gave birth, they no longer had the scent. Now you are also thinking: ¡®what a coincidence you have that talent¡¯, don''t get me wrong,I feel I was made for this madness but this is still an experimental feature, a dentist can hear schizophrenia on a patient or a soldier can see a fart a mile away.


    It''s as weird as it sounds, but things just get weirder once you hear the word Prism.


    On my way to school the military city was in turmoil yet again. The soil beneath my feet shook when a beast stomped through the city eating civilians, its reign didn''t last long the momentheflew in from nowhere like the first time. He had bright red curly hair and fair skin. His eyes were green and I can safely say, he was almost naked. He wore skintight shorts, and an open cropped vest in tones of blue. He had armored stockings under his armored shoes. He swung his ring blade in elegance and sliced the beast in half that was terrorizing the city. He landed beside me and asked, "are you okay?" He was smiling at me.


    "Y-yes," I responded. He chuckled and scooped me off my feet leaping high upin the air. "Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" I shouted. "Getting you away from danger," he said before setting me down on a tall building. "Do not move from this spot, I will return for you." He smiled and dropped backwards from the tall building. "Wait!" I reached out to grab him but I was too slow. He slowly descended as he twisted in the air gaining high velocity as he landed with a heavy tremor and quickly bounced back into the air and towards the monster.


    Watching him fight numbs my brain. He was incrediblystrong and extremelyflexible. With a swift strike he was able to cut through the monster''s hard scales. Every time he swung that blade he left a trail of stardust that faded to black. The blade had this blue iridescent glow that burn the skin as it cut. I am not sure what it was at the time but after a while of being exposed to him, it''s magic. By magic, I mean, I still can''t explain how he even does it.


    He leaped once again and stood on the edge of the building in front of me and smiled. "Forgive me, Sirenenh, I have been waiting for our paths to cross yet again. I justwished it were under romantic circumstances.¡± As he spoke, the military closed in to dispose of the monster and carry the victims to the hospital. I should be down there helping but I was out of reach. Literally.


    "That is gay, I don''t swing your way. Now get me down from here!" I spat at him. I found his behavior strange, for Prism standards, that is.


    He spun his ring blade around his wrist and it shrunk into a bracelet, "how the hell does he do that?"I thought to myself. That was illogical, the blade, at is full potential, had many details and sharp edges along with hooks and hollow dent to hide the sharp blade, but as it shrinks, it totally loses all mass value and logical scale. If it were a spring of the sort, I would get it but the blade was just a mystery. "Alright,Alright. I will make it up to you by taking you to school," he offered me.


    "No! Just get me down! I can walk there on my own¡ª AH!" I squealed when he scooped me from my feet again. "Your school badge tells me you are from Prism Knights Academy of Art and Science, I will get you there in five minutes," he said and leaped off the roof onto another. I couldn''t help but wrap my arms around his neck feeling as if he will be stupid enough to drop me, but he won''t.


    He flew me across the city to get me to my school on time. He landed on the roof though. He put me down, took my hand and kissed it saying, "My name is Elyan. I am so glad we met again even if it was under dire circumstances." I yanked my hand away and said, "yeah, well thanks, you can go now." I walked away and went inside the building and into my classroom.


    If -and that''s a big IF- I had any friends they would surround me like vultures to beg me to help them with their homework or even talk about what is currentlyhappening but I have no friends, nor did I have enemies. I was just there. Hell even the teachers didn''t even notice me, I am surprised that weirdo even manage toget out from his own ass and acknowledge me. I really don''t understand what was my hurry to get there.


    "It showed up again." A girl with green hair said.


    "I wonder what it is, what if it''s dangerous?" A guy with blond hair asked.


    "I think it''s a weapon..." I''m not sure who said that.


    "Hey! How much you wanna bet they will capture itsoon!" the guy next to me shouted. He looked at me and asked, "what do you think, Josie?" I ignored him. I rather not indulge them or share any sort ofcommunication with people I don''t like.


    Of course everyone was talking about what happened in the city, I justfocused on the bacteria under my microscope and canceled out the noise. I couldn''t blame them for the hype, but I rather survive than risk it. I know people like Elyan are dangerous to get involved with so I tried to get my mind off him but I was stuck in a loop in my head. My initial question was where the hell did he come from, and why didn''t he have a tracking gear? He looked so free and so happy, unlike the many of us that are miserable blank slates.

 Chapter_2://Morphine

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    <h1 style="text-align: center">Prince?fMadness</h1>


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_2://Morphine


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    It''s been two months since I last saw him, but he always made his presence known. You justknow by the sound of his voice. I spend more often looking out the window praying I am lucky enough to see the red shooting star across Prism. However, all I could hear was his song. Sometimes I heard him close enough and wondered where he could be and if it were possible to see him again.


    There was a period of silence after that, even the rumors about him died off. No, to be more accurate, the rumors became so distorted beyond recognition thatit justbecame its own phenomena. Elyan, or UFO, was depicted to be a flying saucer from space¡ªaccurate, but hold on¡ªHe came to Earth to destroy us and have sex with our women to birth his offspring to claim war on God, who is actually anAIienrobot¡ªthis was a blockbuster verypopular in Florida.


    I started having nightmares again. The night of the rapture was fresh on my mind. I couldn''t see anyone, I was all alone on top of the tower. Behind me, expecting Elyan to be there to save me, was the reprogramming chamber instead. It called to me,whispering of a pseudo-heaven waiting for me. I took the leap of faith expecting someone to save me but I hit the concrete. I was still alive, and it hurt like fucking hell. I felt it so vivid and the worst part of this is that I woke up the morning after with cramps and aches in my body. You see, when I slept in the pods I don''t wake upuntil the timer on the pod is out. If you''re being torchered in the dream, you¡¯re gonna be stuck there till you are allowed to wake up.


    Sometimes I wondered if Ijust¡­ re-spawn in different points. Like what if this reality wasn''t real, and it is part of a dream I am having? I think I justhad too much to think since I was always alone.


    I came back from my practice at the hospital. I had three soldiers that were eaten by monsters and I had to fix them. It was brutal, but I was re-programmed to detach from them. Let me explain a bitwhat it is.


    ¡°You won''t feel this way anymore.¡±


    It was a painful and traumatic procedure where they lock you in a room while hearing white noise. Sometimes you could hear voices in the channels, telling you how to do something. If you fail to do as the voices tell you, youwillget punished. They fill in the chamber with a gas and when you inhale it you get hypersensitive to touch that makes the beatings a lot more painful and you easily become submissive and pliable. Sometimes they treat you kindly and gently to gain your trust to then slap you in the face.


    What was more frightening was the people that walked in the chamber. They spoke in numbers and code words using different voice tones and pitches.


    They forced me to watch people die, suffering, enjoying themselves in random occasions. It was madness. The one emotion I clung to was anger, it kept me going till I was on the brink. Something happened almost at the end. I heard a voice in the channels, ¡°7, 7, 8, 89, 204, 124, 146, 8, 9, 9, 0, 0, 10, 134, 1284,¡± and I passed out.


    It was worth it, somewhat. It didn''t hurt when I saw anyone die or suffer. The only downside was the constant feeling of irritated and anger. I wad the only angry one of Prism while the rest holds on to some emotion, like Apathy or Serenity. I am not cool or charismatic enough to even hold those emotions so I was stuck with what I had. Since it didn''t cause conflict among us they didn''t care.


    I was really tired when I got home from my 24-hour shift, so I hooked myself on my pod to replenish. As much as I hated the stasis chamber, I had no choice but to sleep in it.


    Why in a tube? Well, our bodies are technically artificial. By artificial I mean we are made from a lab. We are supposed to be super soldiers or something. So, to replenish our bodies we need to sleep in mineral watered tubes. I really don''t understand the vibe. I always knew there were smarter methods to keeping us alive. We are still in the early stages, all of us were -in a sense- in the experimental stage. That''s why half of us didn''t follow protocols. I followed it. I didn''t want to be scrapped, or even hunted again.


    I always wonder what it took to wake me up from the comatose in the tubes, all it took was for something literally breaking the pod.


    I was tangled in cables and wires when I woke up in my broken tube. I heard screaming and panic. My room was a disaster with a hole in the wall. I unhooked¡ªokay, no, I literally ripped myself from my pod and rushed over to see what the hell was happening. To my shock, the mother of monsters wreaked havoc in the city, massive¡­ tentacle¡­ slime. It was eighty feet long and possibly a hundred feet tall. I gathered my kit and ran around the building helping the others to evacuate the building.


    So far, I was able to secure one hundred and fifty injured mates, thirty-two comatose, and only seven dead. I did everything in that horrible time frame, from amputate, mercy kill, sedate, revive, I did it all. I had several wounds, but I genuinely didn''t care. I had priorities. There were, easy, two hundred soldiers fighting it and for every one that fell I had to treat them on the spot.


    That wasn''t the scary thing though. The entire issue started to creep me out when it startedtalking.


    ¡°GOD OF STARS AND DREAMS, STOP HIDING!¡± It laughed. The monster had a conscience, and it was prettyresentful. ¡°COME! WHAT IS THE MATTER? AFRAID OF THE VOID!?¡±


    That was fucking scary. We never dealt with a monster that could speak, let alone full sentences in English.


    Then the monster froze. ¡°No! The god of so--!¡± Something like a shooting star pierced through it. The monster broke apart on the ground bursting with electricity. The mystery hero stood near me, holding the position like threw something. He wore a hospital gown and his skin glisten with a clear mineral liquid. He also had wings on his head. He didn''t speak, he didn''t really pose much of a threat but with how he stared at me with those seven eyes I froze on the spot.


    ¡°Get him!¡± A few soldiers went after him but he was long gone... What the hell was happening, no fucking clue. I was glad it was over and done with, though.


    I then heard someone laughing somewhere. When I looked around in a parking lot, I found Elyan in a corner hidden; he was the one laughing. Someone wounded him. He held on to something against his chest, it resembled a moonstone. I Instantly rushed to his aid. He was¡­ crying. Yes, I said he was laughing, but he was shedding tears as he smiled. It creeped me out seeing that. He said things like ¡°Florhem¡­¡± and¡°Merxill¡­¡±I really didn''t understand but my heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. His pain was infectious. ¡°Elyan! Are you Okay?¡± I asked him. Inspecting his wounds. He spoke other things more clear to me,¡°my world, he doesn''t remember me. How could this happen? Doesn''t he love me? Was I gone for too long?¡±


    His wounds were superficial. So, Itreated them with gauze and bandages and other ointments in my kit. ¡°I will take care of you¡­¡± I mumbled. I reallywanted to help him. I didn''t cry because I amemotionally repressed. Ijust¡­ really care about him. I always did. That was one of many things I learned that night.


    I asked him, ¡°you said your world doesn''t remember you, what happened?¡± He was quiet, his eyes flooded with tears. He took a while to answer. ¡°they tookme away...¡± he whispered with a grin.


    ¡°Do you remember when?¡±


    ¡°I was a child when they ripped mefrom my mother''s arms,¡± he said. Suddenly he clutched his chest as he struggled for a breath, ¡°my heart¡­ It¡¯s breaking.¡± He was sweating profusely; basic signs he was having a heart attack.


    I laid him flat on the ground to work on him. I ran out of adrenaline, so I had to massage his chest with my hands but he only worsened. Eventually he stopped breathing and stared up at the stars above us. I witnessed as the life drained from his eyes.


    I panicked. I rubbed his chest harder, but I ended up punching it out of desperation.


    He was dead, but that didn¡¯t stop me from trying to bring him back. I dug into my bag to find something to help me, and I forgot I had a portable defibrillator. I lathered his chest with a thick coat of gel and placed the defibrillator to shock him back to life. After several attempts, I finally succeeded. He took that long satisfying breath, and he looked up at me. ¡°Okay, you''re back.¡± I choked on my ownbreath. My heart was beating a mile a second. Elyan reached up his frail and bruised hand to my face. ¡°You didn¡¯t let me die¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you fucking crazy? Of course not! I will take care of you!¡±


    ¡°Will you really take care of me¡­?¡± he asked, smiling at me.


    ¡°Of course! Why do you even ask such a stupid question!?¡±


    ¡°Because I don''t know how much I will last¡­¡± He was smiling still as tears spilled down his face.


    ¡°Don''t say stupid things¡­¡± was all I could say. He giggled, ¡°such a vile temper and yet possess a gentle heart¡­¡±


    I don''t remember what happened after that, but I woke up in the hospital. My higher ups visited me, telling me that by the end of the day they will provide me with a new address to a new apartment and I could graduate early.


    That was great and all, but all I had on my mind was Elyan¡­ I asked if I was alone when they found me. ¡°Yes. You were in the parking lot. We assumed you were looking for more survivors till you finally collapsed,¡± was their answer. I didn''t dare ask them about Elyan. I feared it would create a chain reaction.


    When I got to school, every single alumni invaded my personal space asking how I could do it. Some even deny I was capable of such a thing. In fact the prettiest girl, Ice, came asking how the hell I could survive such a catastrophe. I said, ¡°beat it. No one liked me when I was just a generic mineral.¡±


    ¡°Oh, come now, no one likes you because you are hostile with everyone.¡± She snickered. Ice was dark-skinned and had white, almost a soft blue, long hair and matching eyes. Everyone was in love with her because she was smart and pretty. Some say she was dating a general but I don''t listen to rummors.


    ¡°Just leave me alone. I am exhausted¡­¡±


    ¡°If you want, you can sleep and I can get the notes for you.¡±


    ¡°No thanks. I don''t like owing favors to anyone.¡±


    ¡°Geeze! So hostile! Are you sure you want to study medicine?¡± She laughed. I mocked her little giggle and opened my textbook to doschool work.


    After a while of reading the heart muscle diagram, I looked out the window, adjacent from my position and just looked for a shooting star or a red dot. I really was worried about him. I hoped he wasn''t captured or hurt.


    ¡°Because I don''t know how much I will last¡­¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    My blood ran cold. I had this nagging feeling to run and find him, but if I do things unorganized they will suspect something was up.


    ¡°Hey, Josiah, you seem pretty upset.¡± I don''t know who said thatbut I quickly bit back, ¡°thank you, captain obvious.¡± I really didn''t like this attention. I enjoyed it better when no one looked at me.


    I stood up from my seat in the middle of the lecture and left the classroom. I justsaid I need to take a piss, so they allowed me out. I ran to the school rooftop and searched the distance, expecting him to be standing somewhere Perhaps I could hear him, but I couldn¡¯t. I got desperate when I couldn''t see a puffy red hair. ¡°Elyan!¡± I shouted. I didn''t expect him to rush to my side in a split second but I was hoping he would. Just seeing he was okay would help ease my heart.


    ¡°Elyan¡­!!¡± I shouted again. I stood on the edge to get a better view.


    It was a back trip, I looked down and swallowed thickly, maybe if I jumped he would show up, but upon recalling my dream I rather not risk it.


    I noticed a crow standing next to me on the edge. It had a couple of eyes on its head. I cringed and left it alone.


    I left back to the classroom after I actuallytook a piss. I stood there thinking, watching my piss go down the drain. ¡°He has to be okay¡­¡± I said out loud. I really hated the idea he was just roaming the city alone. He is the type to be considered a monster and should be experimented on, or hunted down if he were a threat.


    ¡°Who is?¡± Elyan said standing behind me. I probably lost many man points with how loud and high pitched my scream was. I also held my dick a little too hard. ¡°What the hell, Elyan?!¡± I looked around before looking back at him. ¡°I came from the window--¡±


    ¡°What?! Why?!¡±


    ¡°A bird told me you were calling for me.¡± He giggled.


    ¡°A what-??!.....¡± He must have meant the crow. ¡°What on Earth are you?¡±


    ¡°I am The God of Stars and Dreams,¡± he said smiling.


    ¡°Right, god¡­¡± I shook my dick a few times and tucked it in my pants.


    ¡°Or¡­¡± He sighed with a soft smile as he glanced to the gray tiles on the ground, lost in through. ¡°That is what my mother told me¡­¡±


    ¡°That''s cool¡­¡± it annoyed me. It annoyed me, and that was a great thing. It was normal¡­ he was okay. I washed my hands in the sink. Then it hit me. ¡°Wait, god? That monster was looking for you?¡± I was very curious. Elyan¡¯s smile never faltered, but he looked sad and nervous.


    ¡°Yes. We are at war with other gods. Ghem, the sky glutton, wants my soul. Hefinally took him down after he chased me all over the galaxy¡­ Manejah¡­¡± He held his chest tightly and closed his eyes. ¡°My world took it down. Even if he isbroken¡­¡±


    ¡°But, you died last night. I thought gods can''t die.¡±


    ¡°They can. If you break their souls, they will perish.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Well, as much as that somewhat makes sense, I can''t believe it. Would you?


    ¡°Thank you for saving my soul,¡± Elyan whispered.


    ¡°I swore I would take care of you. Why wouldn''t I?¡± I said. ¡°I took an oath, and I swore to serve and to save any life thatI can. My life is the last thing I have to worry about. You, are my priority.¡± I paraphrased my simple oath when I enrolled into the school.


    ¡°So sweet¡­ Oh! Why did you call me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What do you mean¡®why did I call you¡¯!? You stupid asshole, you fucking vanished from thin air! It worried me!!¡±


    ¡°You were¡­?¡± He smiled softer. There was a small glint of hope in his bright, almost impossibly green eyes.


    ¡°Yes, you fucking prick! Next time warn me!¡±


    ¡°Forgive me¡­¡± He took my hands and kissed them gently. ¡°I was selfish. I apologize. I needed to hide from them. Incidentally, I found something you would like. I plucked it from the sky on my way back.¡± He dug his hand into his fanny pack and pulled out a ring. ¡°It''s¡­ a gift¡± Elyan said shyly and looked away. He had a flushed set of cheeks and his body fidget nervously. ¡°I thought since you are a doctor perhaps this would help,¡± he added.


    ¡°I uhh¡­ don''t wear jewelry¡­¡±


    ¡°Try it on, I know it in my heart you will use it,¡± he insisted. I justcan''t say no to him. ¡°Fine¡­¡± I took it and wore it on my middle finger, examining the detail. Something made it from weird metal, even the encrusted gem was different. ¡°How does it work?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I honestly don''t know,¡± Elyan confessed with a nervous giggle.


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Riiight¡­¡± I sighed in defeat. Elyan was just an ulcer in my stomach. A very painful ulcer.


    The bell rang. I didn¡¯t realize how long I was taking. I looked back at the bathroom door, scared that someone might walk in and see him. ¡°Fuck, I have to go¡­¡± I uttered.


    ¡°I will wait for you to call me again.¡± He back flipped and jumped through the window a second before someone else walked in. ¡°Hey! Josie! You alright? You missed the lecture.¡± I was so amazed at how he fit through that tiny window with his massive thick legs I ignored what''s his face. He sort of remind me of those pin up posters. ¡°I got diarrhea,¡± I said and left the bathroom to get my things.


    I walked to my new apartment, It was far more luxurious than the old one. I had a study, a small kitchen and living room. My room was bigger, and I had both a pod and a bed. See, this is kind of counterproductive. Why have a bed when you have benefits of a pod. I guessed after what happened they need medical staff on the alert.


    I dived in my new plush bed. I couldn''t wait to sleep butI heard a knock on glass, Elyan was outside the balcony with a bright smile. He was covered in blood¡­ Jumped to the door and I let him in.


    ¡°What the fuck?!¡± I asked. ¡°What the devil happened to you?!¡±


    ¡°I had to fight my way to survive,¡± he said, tucking his red flame behind his ear.


    ¡°Are you hurt?!¡±


    ¡°No, I am fine!¡±


    ¡°T-then what are you doing here then?¡±


    ¡°I hope you don''t mind if I use your shower?¡±


    ¡°You are nothing but a fucking freeloader!!¡± I almost tossed him out the balcony. He giggled and pressed a kiss on my cheek and gave me a hug. I froze. I am not used to that sort ofattention and I don¡¯t know how to even react to it. ¡°Such a vile tongue with a sweet heart¡­¡± Elyan said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You are literally the only soul in this planet to care about me¡­ I really¡­¡± He turned his head towards me, his eyes fluttering close to kiss my lips. I stopped him, pushing him gently away. ¡°You really what?¡±


    ¡°I really care about you. Your soul is so beautiful. I wish you could bare my children--¡±


    I exploded. ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there!¡± he looked at me quizzically. ¡°What the hell are you getting at, you weirdo! I am a male! And so are you!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am well aware of that. Is that an issue?¡± He took his hands to himself and looked everywhere but at me.


    ¡°Of course it is! And I don''t swing that way!¡±


    ¡°S-swing?¡± he cocked his head and glanced at me.


    ¡°I am not into males!¡± I spat at him.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°It''s not natural! Even science proves two of the same gender can''t reproduce!¡±


    He giggled again. ¡°Of course they can, silly¡­¡± He smiled at me as if I were an idiot.


    ¡°No, they cannot! How would it even work?!¡± Every time I yelled at him he shrunk and lowered his voice.


    ¡°If you truly love me as I love you... Once I penetrate you and fill you with my sperm, we will be blessed by a miracle-¡±


    ¡°HELL. NO.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so hostile? Have I angered you?¡± He asked softly.


    ¡°You¡¯re being stupid! It annoys me! You don''t even know my name to even think about sleeping with me like if I was a cheap slut!¡±


    ¡°Of course I know your name¡­ How could I not know, Josiah¡­?¡± I was so shocked he knew my name I froze, again. ¡°How do you know my name¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ must confess that after finding you, I kept track of you.¡±


    ¡°You were stalking me?¡± I stepped back into the safety of my apartment. I was unnerved by his sudden confession.


    ¡°I didn''t know how to approach you,¡± he said with hesitance evident in his tone. ¡°I am sorry if you are frightened. I justneeded to understand why I had such a strong feeling for you¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you fucking confessing?¡± His eyes widened and buried his face in his hands. ¡°Per...haps?¡± he giggled. ¡°I thought thatby¡­ being your friend I would be able to understand my heart better.¡± He finally lifted his head to look at me. His face was the same color of his unnaturally red hair¡­ Granted he was still covered in blood.


    ¡°Look, uhm, Elyan. I barely stand my ownpresence, I doubt you will last at least a day as my friend,¡± I explained to him. I never understood why Elyan even fell in love with me. I am the worst possiblecandidate when it came to this sort ofscenario.


    ¡°Didn''t you say you will take care of me¡­?¡± he asked me with a sad, hushed voice.


    ¡°I said I would, but I have issues with people. Besides, I can''t harbor you in my home for obvious reasons.¡± Elyan hung his head with a bright smile. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± he said. He stumbled backwards towards the railing and looked up at me, still smiling. ¡°The last I want to do is harm you,¡± he saidto me. ¡°Will you still take care of me?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I wouldn''t break my oath for anything in the world.¡± I stepped aside and added, ¡°hurry upand shower.¡±


    ¡°You-...¡± he ran up to meand held my hands tightly. ¡°You really will allow me to bathe?¡± I yank my hands away and said, ¡°just hurry the fuck up before I toss you out the balcony¡­¡±


    He quickly ran inside giggling, removing all of his clothes, and jumped in the shower. I justrolled my eyes. I swore this little butt-hole just loves to rile me up with his manipulations.


    I sighed as I stared down at Elyan literally knocked out in the bathtub filled with cold water stained with dirt and blood. He was covered in bruises and scratches. Whatever battle he was in, it really did a number on him. I drained the water and carried him to the bed. I patched him up before I dressed him in a pajama shirt and one of my boxer shorts.


    He looked vulnerable, anything that could attack him would likely succeed. It was rather hard to believe he was such a thing as a celestial presence. Yes, we had witnessed monsters and creatures from beyond the ozone layer, but, Elyan looked more like a star child than something higher upthan Jesus Christ, Buddha or whatever. I was in the zone when I thought about it; I wondered what do gods eat, what do they do for entertainment, or if they even needed to sleep. All I could picture was this tragic soul caught in the rain trying to sleep through the cold night. When I really thought about it, he ismentally damaged. He was sick, and I was the only one who even cared about him despite my Hippocratic Oath. I sighed and palmed my tired face. ¡°I can''t believe I am even considering it¡­¡±


    I didn''t sleep in my pod that night; I was thinking about the redhead sleeping in my bed. He didn''t wake up though, not until that afternoon when I came back from the academy. I thought he died because he barely moved and his breathing pattern was very light. He snores prettyloud and in waves once he reached REM...


    I shook him lightly to wake him up, it took a while for his eyes to open. He stared at the pod and jolted back to the wall with his eyes wide open. ¡°H-Hey!¡± I panicked. ¡°It''s okay! You¡¯re in my room!¡± Elyan¡¯s eyes shifted towards me and began to breathe again. ¡°Josiah¡­¡± he whispered with a shameful smile. He covered his face and drowned in his fit of giggles. ¡°How silly of me!¡± he said.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± I asked, he was too busy laughing he couldn''t answer. He clutched his chest as his laughter became a silent tremor. ¡°My heart aches!¡±


    ¡°Calm down¡­ you need to breath¡­¡± I slowly grasp his wrist and pulled him to the edge of the bed. ¡°I was so frightened¡­ I am glad it''s just you, Josiah¡­!¡± He refused to lift his face.¡°It''s going to be fine. Just relax.¡±


    ¡°I have to leave¡­¡±


    ¡°Why?¡°I asked.


    ¡°You said only to bathe and afterwards I should leave.¡°He rolled out the bed and headed for the balcony. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to bed.


    Elyan wasn¡¯t thinking straight. His coordination was sloppy and clumsy compared to the day before when he stood chin high with confidence. ¡°It''s fine¡­ as long as you don''t tell everyone who you are and avoid doing anything god related, then it''s okay¡­¡±


    ¡°J-Josiah, you couldn''t possibly be saying¡­¡°


    ¡°Elyan, I bet you sleep out in the open¡­ It goes against my oath to let someone as ill as you to live in those conditions¡­¡°


    "Oh, Josiah¡­ You are so kindto me¡­" His cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red and slowly spread down his neck. "What have I done to earn such a kind heart¡­?"


    ¡°You saved my life¡­ ¡°I confessed. It is my most honest response. Elyan saved my life all those years ago without hesitating, and he saved me again recently. I was so selfish to ask him to leave just because I was afraid of breaking a few rules. ¡°I should repay your kindness with hospitality¡­¡°I slowly helped him lay down the bed and tucked him in.


    He looked up with quivering breaths escaping his corrupted smile. I didn¡¯t believe Elyan to be a horrible person, but knowing how Prism functions, I was ready to believe they programmed him to believe he was nothing but waste. He showed signs he had lost hope in everything, and he continued to live because he held on his last grasp of hope and even then I pushed him away. Living with him proved I needed patience and tolerance; something Prism stole from me for the sake of making disposable pawns.

 Chapter_3//:Stellar_Chart

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_3://Stellar_Chart


    <hr>


    I tested Elyan with whatever I could. The first was the physical exam. I took notes of everything I found on a physical form, his red short wild hair, pale damaged skin with a translucent star shaped scales underneath his epidermis. He has green eyes with black thin slits and a weirdly framed body. He was veryskinny around the torso and arms and verythick around his hips and long legs. He was 129 Lb, and towered 6¡¯8¡±, just a few inches taller than me. He always sat and stood straight. His posture was perfect, like if he had a stick in his spine. When his feet hit the ground he barely made any sound. You barely felt him in the room when he moved, unless he was laughing, singing or talking.


    Not only that, he speaks when spoken to and if I didn¡¯t knowany better, he felt like a trained prince. He gave that vibe by the wayhe presents himself. When he took my hand, taking full charge and saving us from monsters. His accent is so strange, too, even if he spoke fluent English. I can¡¯t say what he sounds like because it is a trait unique only for him.


    I documented every single scar on his body and asked him about it, most of them were tracking scars by the wayhe described them. There was one in particular on his neck from ear to ear, it was sealed shut by a suture scar. I try to touch it and Elyan slapped my hand away. ¡°Please, don''t touch that,¡± Elyan begged as he protected his neck with his hand.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± I asked him. ¡°Let me see,¡± I tried to pry his fingers away to see but he wouldn''t budge. ¡°Why?¡± He asked me.


    ¡°Because if it''s infected I don''t want the infection to spread through your blood,¡± I explained to him. ¡°Please, let me see it.¡±


    He slowly dropped his hand to his lap and lifted his chin. I didn''t touch, I justlooked. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± I asked him again.


    ¡°No. It justfeels strange, like if you were attached to a third arm.¡±


    ¡°You will get used to it. If it does hurt, please, let me know immediately.¡± Elyan nodded and smiled.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, ¡®what do you mean¡¯? How the fuck old are you?¡±


    ¡°As in, how long I lived?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I lost count, but I recently reached maturity.¡±


    ¡°...I will assume you are eighteen to twenty-one.¡± I wrote it down in codes. Frankly, everything I wrote was in codes only I could understand. Any other person would be lost in the report if they were to read them. With Elyan, one had to be careful. Any slip up and he will be locked up again.


    ¡°Do you have a special diet?¡± I asked him but he didn¡¯t answer. I assumed it was because he didn''t understand what I said. ¡°What do you eat?¡± I rephrased.


    ¡°Why do you ask me these questions?¡± He asked with a nervous giggle. He looked uncomfortable, ready to jump out the window.


    ¡°I have to feed you something,¡± I said, and settle the form down on my lap.


    ¡°D-do we have to continue?¡± He was stuck in a giggle fit.


    ¡°Elyan, are you uncomfortable with me asking you these questions?¡±


    ¡°Very,¡± he said honestly, trying to contain his laugh.


    ¡°We can stop for today then.¡± I got up and hid his medical file under the mattress.


    ¡°R-really? You won¡¯t poke me? or¡­¡± he trailed off, unable to even think about it.


    ¡°Do I have to?¡±


    ¡°I assumed--¡±


    ¡°I mean, doing a full examination is what I want, but for now, knowing the basics to accommodate you properly is enough. I need to get you clothing that will fit you, so I hope you don¡¯t mind if I take measurements--¡± I heard him laugh. He was hiding his face behind his hands as his shoulders shook. ¡°Elyan?¡± I called to him.


    He lifted his tear-stained face, smiling, and said, ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It is my job to care about you.¡± I handed him a bathrobe to cover his body. ¡°I¡¯m going to get you clothing. Do you think you can handle yourself here?¡±


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ It would be far simpler if you went with me but I rather not attract any sort ofattention to you.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Then I will wait for you here.¡±


    I took my wallet and left to get him a few sets of clothes. It was hard to buy him clothes in the base because of his size, from the waist up he was size zero and from the waist down he was husky. I did get someessentials: the year supply of hygiene products, since I had just lost most of my belongings during the siege, I used that as an excuse to get supplies for Elyan.


    They were also giving away uniform and clothing from lost soldiers in packages according to size, and if I solicit clothes from them I have to accept only the size my profile has listed. So I had to go outside anyway to get him clothes, in the meantime, Elyan can fit in some of my clothes.


    As I walked down the hall of my apartment, I heard him singing. To be honest, he has such a beautiful voice. It¡¯s ridiculous.


    I walked in, he was standing in the middle of my living room, singing, surrounded by black feathers. A coat of feathers was draped from his lythe shoulders. I was stuck in a daze watching him, there was indeed some deity grace emitting from him, but there was also something else, Iwas scared of him. I quickly locked the door behind me, Elyan spoke to me,¡°what is the matter?¡± I looked over, he turned towards me and took several steps forward. ¡°I¡­¡± I was word blocked. I wanted to say so many things but all of my words clogged up my throat. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    My eyes widened when his coat disintegrated into a murder and flew out the window. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I asked him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be frightened of Crow, he is here to help you.¡±


    ¡°What? what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°He took a liking to you because you saved me. He is in your debt as am I.¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­¡± That didn¡¯t explain anything. I justsighed and picked up the little errands I was able to get to put them away where they go. ¡°I couldn''t get you clothes for today, so I will go tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You are so kind to me,Josiah¡­ Thank you,¡± he said with a smile and helped me put away the items.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡± I muttered quietly.


    ¡°Elyan, the toothbrush with the star sticker on it¡¯s yours. Every product that belongs to you has a star so we won''t get confused.¡± I explained to him.


    ¡°How do I use this?¡± he asked me holding the toothbrush and examining it. I was bewildered. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious¡­¡± I took the brush from him. ¡°You never washed your teeth?¡±


    ¡°Is it important?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. You may be a god or whatever but you have tofollow proper hygiene,¡± I scolded him. He justsmiled. ¡°Alright, teach me to use this.¡±


    So, I taught him how to use the products properly to make them last the entire year. Elyan was a smart person, he was competent enough to keep track on his new routine.


    ¡°Josiah,¡± Elyan calledto me. He peaked his head through the study doorway with a shy grin. ¡°Is it okay if I soak in the tub?¡± He asked me.


    ¡°You can spend there as much as you like, just don¡¯t spend too much water or products,¡± I reminded him. I was too busy working on a thesis. ¡°Remember to keep the bathroom dry and put your dirty laundry in the basket,¡± I added.


    ¡°Okay.¡± With a quiet giggle he retreated to the bathroom. Elyan always asked for my permission for everything. Not that I minded, but sometimes it felt like he was afraid of me.


    ¡°Josiah,¡± he asked me as I set up my pod. ¡°Can I sleep too?¡±


    I frowned and turned to him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Is it okay if I slept? I feel really tired.¡± I was baffled. And then, it hit me.


    ¡°Elyan, how long have you been awake?¡±


    ¡°Thirteen consecutive days,¡± he answered with a sweet smile.


    ¡°What!?¡± I shouted a bittoo loudly. ¡°Elyan. What have you been doing while I slept in the pod??¡±


    ¡°I watch you sleep.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unsettling...¡± I sighed and ran my fingers through my head. ¡°Elyan, feel free tosleep on the bed for as long as you need to.¡±


    ¡°Really? Am I reallyworthy of sleeping on the bed?¡±


    ¡°Elyan, a bed is not exclusive, you can use it since I use the pod. Please, if it¡¯s something like sleep or eating or using the restroom, you don¡¯t have to ask me.¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t be angry, Josiah. I didn¡¯t know.¡± He hung his head, assuming he was embarrassed for even asking me.


    ¡°I am not angry, just¡­ What made you think youhaveto ask me permission for basic human rights?¡±


    ¡°I am not human. I am lesser than garbage.¡± He smiled brightly, accepting it as a fact.


    ¡°Who the hell told you that¡­?¡± I was understandably angry. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, Elyan. I dounderstand you are not human, but I find it hard to believe you''re garbage.¡±


    Something in his eyes sparked. Perhaps it was hope. ¡°Thank you, Josiah.¡± He turned away from me, towards the bed and climbed on it. He curled up before he flashed me a bright smile. ¡°Jemnemi, Josiah,¡± he said and closed his eyes. He instantly fell asleep. I never seen anyone with such a blissful stacis.


    ¡°Goodnight, Elyan.¡± I got into my pod and, I too, pursued my dreams that night.


    Another strange fact about him was his affinity for the sun and the water. If he wasn¡¯t doing any sort ofchore or fighting monsters, Elyan would stand in the balcony for hours, if not, all day if he could.


    I once caught him waltzing by himself. He wasn¡¯t ashamed when he was aware of me watching him. He didn¡¯t break concentration as he danced. However, Elyan made several mistakes that made him start over till he eventually gave up and prepared his bath.


    He took long baths and sung in every session. Elyan sung in a strange language I couldn''t recognize. I always caught myself listening. Stopping whatever I was doing to indulge.


    After Elyan lowered his guard, I tried testing him again. The next assessment was a simple process to verify the condition of his brain. He showed signs of some memory retention and I need to understand how he functions. ¡°What is that, Josiah?¡± Elyan asked me as I set up the chessboard on the coffee table. ¡°It''s a strategy game,¡± I answered.


    ¡°A game? Can I play?¡± He closed in and touched the pieces, admiring the design. ¡°Of course, what side would you like to be?¡± I asked as I finished setting the pieces correctly.


    ¡°Does it matter which side I chose?¡± he asked. That peaked my curiosity, so I answered him, ¡°yes, it matters, black side defends, white side attacks.¡±


    ¡°So white pieces start first?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pick the white side.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let me explain the rules.¡± I turned the table top to switch the pieces. ¡°Your goal is to take out my king. Pawns are front row, they can only move one space and can only eat crossed side, and they can''t move backwards.¡±


    ¡°Eat?¡±


    ¡°It''s a figure of speech.¡±


    ¡°Okay, do they have limitations on which piece they can take down?¡±


    ¡°No, there is no limit. The next piece is the tower and they can only move in one straight line, horizontal or vertical, never across.¡± I didn''t explain it in orderto see if he remembers the rules. ¡°The king can move one space at a time but he can move in any direction.The Bishop can only move across, never horizontal or vertical.The Queen can move in any direction. The Knight moves in L shape.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°As in, you move three steps forward and one to the side, basically, a capital L.¡±


    ¡°Ohh¡­ just forward?¡±


    ¡°No, the knight can move all around just as long as you move in capital L. Also, your prey has to be at the fourth step for you to take it out.¡± Elyan nodded and stared at the board intently. ¡°Those are the basic rules. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He moved a pawn, f2 to square f3. I moved my pawn, c7 to c5. Elyan tilted his head to the side but he didn''t question my move. He would stare intently at the board for long periods before he made a move, compared to myself that I justmove head on.


    I set him a trap; I left a pawn ready to be eaten by his queen, if he captured it I had a chance to capture his queen, but he didn''t do that, instead, he placed his pawn ready to capture my king. Here is the issue, yes I could just eat the pawn but, if I do that, my king would be exposed to his queen, and If I move away, his knight had the advantage. ¡°Did I win?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you did¡­ prettygood, actually.¡± I was really surprised at how fast he learned.


    ¡°Can we play again?¡± he asked with an excited smile.


    ¡°Sure.¡± This time I played how I normally would but he still beat me. Over, and over, and over again. ¡°This is so fun! I remember my grandfather playing a game like this when I was younger.¡±


    ¡°Really? What kind of game?¡±


    ¡°We played war,¡± he giggled contently. ¡°It was a game of outwitting each other. This is far more simple.¡±


    ¡°That''s a strange game¡­¡± I said weirded out.


    ¡°I find it appropriate for a king in training,¡± the redhead smiled brightly as he set up the board to play again. ¡°I am the king of this universe and it is my duty as king to protect it with all my strength and might,¡± he sounded so secure about it and my mouth just couldn''t help it.


    ¡°I am amazed you give up yourself for a planet that kept you in captivity for the sake of science¡­¡± Something in him broke. He hesitated to move his piece, and he looked at me with a sad smile before whispering, ¡°you are part of my universe, Josiah¡­¡±

 Chapter_4//:Saturn

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_4://Saturn


    <hr>


    Elyan was a great help around the apartment once I taught him how to do the chores. I got home super late, and I was pleased that Elyan left the house spotless. The laundry folded neatly in their assigned drawers, and he cooked my diner and my lunch for the next day.


    Iwas given such horrible hours I could barely blink without falling asleep, so; it was appreciated and nice to just get home and crash.


    I had a day off coming and I counted the days. Well, to be frank, things got prettyweird, and that Saturday felt more like an odyssey.


    So,


    Saturday.


    It was my first free Saturday. I didn''t know what to do on a Saturday; I thought on catching on work, homework, but I thought it would be best to just rest.


    I justnapped on the couch till nine A.M. I woke up to see Elyan swinging on his ring blade in the middle of the room when I specifically told him NOT TO.


    So, right off the bat, I started my day with a migraine.


    I wasn¡¯t used to sleeping outside a pod, I justrubbed my eyes and groaned as I sat up, ¡°Elyan, stop that.¡±


    ¡°Why? It''s so fun!¡±


    ¡°Elyan, if you break the ceiling I have to PAY to FIX IT.¡± I grit my teeth. This is the norm with this little butt-hole. You can get a coronary just looking at him.


    ¡°You are so silly.¡± He laughed. ¡°I am not that heavy.¡± He continued to swing. I was so angry I didn''t realize he was half naked.


    Look, this is a weird alien that doesn''t understand the law, and no matter how you explain it to him he will just laugh. This is the perfect scenario for those who have the strangest fantasies but for me this is like dealing with a child only I don''t get the satisfaction to say the little shit is adopted.


    ¡°Elyan! You ate nothing but chocolate this past week! You are fattening up like a pig among truffles!¡± He laughed again. Feeding him is like feeding a little brat. He only consumes sugar and if you force feed him anything else, he will throw a tantrum.


    Honestly, I wished that hook broke and the roof would squish him.


    I wished too hard¡­


    The hook broke, but it only made a hole in my ceiling. Elyan apparently heard the ceiling collapsing seconds before because he rolled away in the nick of time.


    To make matters worse, a tiny little piece of cement fell in my eye.


    Oh, my god...


    I wanted to kill him¡­


    So I screamed, ¡°God-fucking-dammit!¡± while I held my left eye.


    ¡°Are you--¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, Elyan!!¡± I kept shouting at him. ¡°Fuck! I fucking told you!! This veryshit would happen!!¡±


    ¡°I didn''t think you would be injured--¡±


    ¡°I ALWAYS END UP HURT AFTER OR DURING YOUR FUCKING SHENANIGANS!! YOU FUCKING TWIT!¡± I kept groaning in pain and tearing up. The pain was unbearable. I couldn''t hear Elyan. He normally giggles. Thing is, he can''t express anything but joy. He justcan''t be sad. His body language can express him better, and him standing staring at you quietly means he knows he fucked up, and he feels terrible about it. But him literally shaking and clenching his body as if I were to strike him was a new feature. ¡°D-don¡¯t hit me please¡­ I am sorry,¡± he whispered.


    I groaned and calmed down. I justwanted to get that out of my eye and being angry wasn''t helping. ¡°It''s fine¡­¡± I tried to see what was lodged in my fucking eyeball in the bathroom mirror but it was so difficult. This is why you can''t be your own doctor.


    I felt his hands creep up my face. ¡°Let me see¡­¡± he says softly. I moved my hand from my eye and opened it to the best of my abilities. It really hurt. I had to instruct him how to get it out.


    So, we sat in my bathroom while he tried to remove the fucking pebble in my eyeball. ¡°Uhm¡­ I think it''s stuck.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Elyan?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± he pulled it out, and I screamed. The result being my left eye had a lacerationand I had to wear an eye patch for the rest of the recovery. I stared at Elyan with my right eye through the mirror and he was smiling and giddy. ¡°You look like a pirate! Perhaps I should steal your treasure.¡± He snaked his arms around me and presses a kiss on my neck. I growled and pushed him away. ¡°You fucking caused this, you harpy!¡±


    ¡°At least you didn''t lose your sight.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you. I swear to god I will kick you out!¡± I could have sworn his face expressed bewilderment or shock for a second.


    That was my entire morningand I missed breakfast. So, I had to make lunch, for me and that twit.


    ¡°Why can you not make pancakes?¡± he asked. He was propped on the stool staring at the cookbook.


    ¡°Because I don''t like to eat sweets during lunch.¡± I was preparing instant rice and dried meat. The military only provides preserved meals for free. The rest I have to pay for it. It was difficult to cook with NO DEPTH PERCEPTION.


    ¡°But I like sweets.¡±


    ¡°And I don''t. Besides, I have been craving rice for a while.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible to make sweet rice?¡± he asked. You know, I genuinely wanted to know if it was possible. ¡°Elyan, I am cooking.¡±


    ¡°Let me help--¡± I threatened him with the knife and barked, ¡°not one step closer! I want to eat, not die!!¡±


    ¡°Are you still mad--?¡±


    ¡°Hell hath no fury like a Josiah scorned!¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Please--¡±


    ¡°Stay away!¡±


    He stayed quiet, smiling softly as I cooked.


    Or rather, dig my grave.


    I grabbed the wrong cup and poured it in the pan and the water I poured in exploded, don¡¯t fucking ask how that works...


    There was a fire. ¡°Josiah!¡± Elyan dragged me out of the kitchen and he-- I kid you not, he sucked up the fire and swallowed it.


    I was stuck in a daze. I felt so stupid. Elyan rushed over to see if I was okay. ¡°Josiah! Josiah! My love!¡± He held my face, ¡°Josiah! You got burned!¡±


    ¡°C-calm down, it was just an accident-¡± He kissed my wound. ¡°I will get the kit.¡± He ran into the bathroom and treated me with my instructions. He learned prettyquick.


    ¡°How the hell did you do that?¡± I asked when he patched me up with butter.


    ¡°Breathing fire? Well one of my many extensive lovers was a dragon-¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­ hold on. Dragon? As in the mythical beast?¡±


    ¡°They are not a myth and, yes, she taught me how to do it.¡±


    ¡°She?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He smiled. I assumed he was just into males but I guess he liked everything. It''s reallyhard to picture a guy like Elyan fucking a dragon. Actually, that is the only thing I could think of. ¡°Was that ring of yours a gift from her too?¡±


    ¡°Moon''s Halo? It was a gift for my birthdate. A very popular jeweler and smith made it for me.¡±


    ¡°How does it even work¡­?¡±


    ¡°It controls my center gravity to make it easier for me to glide in any gravitational field. It shrinks and grows with my gravity center.¡±


    ¡°Why the Moon? I''d understand Neptune or Saturn but why name it Moon''s Halo?¡±


    ¡°It was once the ring of the moon.¡±


    ¡°Once? He took the ring and made it into that weapon?¡±


    ¡°Not just Moon''s, Mercury¡¯s ring was used as well for my baby sister.¡± He stopped and chirped, ¡°all done! Let me cook for you,¡± he said before kissing my cheek.


    So, he cooked pancakes for lunch. He made the effort to make heart-shaped pancakes. I justsighed and ate them and I knew then never to trust Elyan with my meals.


    Not two minutes after the first bite I was sitting on the toilet with sonic diarrhea. It hurt just to breath. ¡°Josiah?¡± Elyan said behind the locked door. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    ¡°Go away¡­!¡± I was clutching the toilet paper for my life.


    ¡°Let me help--¡±


    ¡°Elyan! What did you put in the pancakes!?¡±


    ¡°The three ingredients the box demands, two whole eggs, ? cup of oil and 1 1/2 cups of milk.¡± I can''t tolerate milk. Frankly, no one can tolerate cow milk and I don''t know who was the fucking smart ass to milk a cow and say ¡°I reckon this taste good on my oats!¡±


    ¡°Elyan! You twit! I am lactose intolerant!¡±


    ¡°Oh!... what does that mean?¡± It still amazes me to this day that Elyan is a super genius in astrophysics and a genuine war god, but does not understand what simple things in everyday life are.


    ¡°Milk can kill me!!¡±


    ¡°Oh, no! Josiah!! I am sorry! How can I fix it!?¡±


    ¡°I justneed to shit it all out!! Leave me alone! Please!!!¡±


    ¡°I will wait outside--¡±


    ¡°Get away from the door and leave me some privacy!!¡±


    So I sat there for maybe three hours groaning and farting my pains. I am glad I had an emotion enema cause I am not embarrassed to shit in public or in a crowd.


    I sighed after I felt better. I cleaned myself up, flushed and washed my hands thoroughly.


    I walked out and I see Elyan stare off into the balcony. He has sensitive hearing, so, he is eithertrying to hear something else other than my fart fare, or he hears something from far away.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked him and stood beside him to see what he was looking at. ¡°Someone is calling me¡­¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Andromeda¡­¡± I see he is about to jump off the balcony and I stopped him, ¡°wait,¡± I said. ¡°Get dressed, I¡¯m going with you.¡±


    ¡°Y-you will¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, might as well get something to eat while we''re out¡­¡±


    Elyan smiled so wide I swear he got extra dimples.


    After we dressed up in something more casual, Elyan straight up flew us to the beach. The moment Elyan¡¯s feet touched the sand, he set me down and ran to the water.


    I justwatched him. I¡¯m not too much a fan of the ocean.


    We heard voices coming from the sky and Elyan responded. The songs got progressively louder and mermaids¡ªmotherfucking mermaids¡ª descended from the sky and into the water. They were small and different colors. Elyan and the mermaids were singing in his weird sing-song language as they played in the water.


    I don¡¯t understand, no one else was here but us, that was too lucky.


    After some time a few mermaids noticed me. They sung to me,I didn¡¯t understand a fucking word. Elyan held out his hand and invited me over. ¡°They are my nieces¡­¡± he said. I justnodded, too shocked at how many little mermaids surrounded him. Unbelievably, only one had hair color similar to hisand it was a bright magenta but she was his spitting image if he were a girl.¡°Nafyssa,¡± she had more human featuresas well.


    ¡°Chloe,¡± she was a blue mermaid, she had a slim tail almost scaleless. Her hair was curly and weirdly enough her arms were bird wings.


    ¡°Samsahrah,¡± she was a green mermaid with duo chrome scales. She was the strangest of the bunch because she looked more like a humanoid dragon.


    ¡°Meteorite,¡± the smallest of the mermaids. She had black skin and her eyes were so bright they resembled stars. Her head was covered in pearls and black feathers.


    ¡°and Serena,¡± she was pale and had wings over her head to cover her eyes.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± I hesitated, and they all tackled me.The bastard with red hair laughed at my torcher, ¡°Awww! they like you!¡±


    ¡°Get off!¡± I shouted, the girls squealed and crawled into the water, apparently freaked out.


    ¡°Since when you had nieces??¡± I wanted to ask him a lot of things but this was the first one I could ask.


    ¡°They are my sister''s daughters¡­¡± Elyan breathed.


    I watched Elyan play with the mermaids till they flew back into the sky by the time the sunset on the horizon.


    Elyan waved enthusiastically good-bye till they were out of sight. He looked lost, almost drowning in nostalgia. ¡°My sister was blessed with children¡­¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she showed up with her daughters then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My sister could be in a different universe at this moment in time¡­¡±


    ¡°Doing what?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps she is looking for me still. Neither of the girls have seen her for years at a time¡­¡±


    ¡°Why not go out to see your sister?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t last such a straining journey¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe she will visit someday¡­ We should go eat¡­¡± I turn to walk to the nearest establishment.


    Elyan pulled my wrist mumbling, ¡°wait¡­¡± I looked up waiting for him to catch his breath. He clutched my shirt and pulled me into a kiss, it was brief. I stared at him flabbergasted when we parted. "Thank you for being here with me, Josiah¡­¡± He smiledand his eyes glazed with tears.


    I didn''t respond immediately, I was somewhatflustered he stole my first kiss. I honestly didn¡¯t know how I felt about that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being so forward with you, but I have fallen in love with you and I can¡¯t understand why. I never felt this way with any woman, or anyone. I justhope you can put up with me for a little longer¡­ You don¡¯t have to love me, it will be enough for me justto pretend that you do...¡± We juststared at each other in complete silence as we heard the ocean ballad. ¡°That''s not healthy¡­¡± I said. He justsmiled and said, ¡°standing next to you weakens my heart... Ironic, is it not?"


    ¡°Elyan, have nothing I''ve done so far helped you¡­?¡± He didn''t answer.


    I felt as like I swallowed a think pill. I couldn¡¯t handle the information he justthrew at me. My life was shifting rapidly and I really didn¡¯t like it. I think after this, I couldn''t sleep in the pod. I justlaid on the couch staring at emptyspace thinking about what Elyan said. He was dying and there was nothing I could do to help him. I could understand why he was daring when he touches me¡­ I really don''t feel right when anyone touches me and I felt conflicted because it was a dying wish.


    I thought Elyan wasn''t a god¡­ I thought he was a failed experiment gone horribly wrong, and he pretends he is something higher than what he is to cope with his sad reality. That reallybroke my heart. That''s when it hit me, I was feeling attached to him when I clearlywas not supposed to.

 Chapter_5://Empty_Nebula

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_5://Empty_Nebula


    <hr>


    After that revelation, I couldn''t focuse on anything else but Elyan''s health. He was extremly subtle about it, but I guessed he was pretending he wasn''t dying.


    I tried being sympathetic with him, but each day proved to be a challenge.


    I sighed heavily when I saw what that butt-hole did. He took one of my notebooks and wrote little poems. Not only that, he doodled over important notes and on all the blank spaces, so I didn¡¯t have space to write any of my notes.


    He was bored and it was irritating when he complained about it. So, I gave him cheap crayons and markers to entertain him. I will say one thing, the little fuck has talent.


    ¡°Josie! Did you do the assignment?¡± A guy whose name I had to learn to insult him directly, Darrell, went up to mebecause he was too incompetent to finish his assignment. The only butt-hole allowed to mooch off me is apparently the god of stars and dreams, all because he actuallysaved my life. Then again, his shenanigans proved to be useful...


    Darrell took my notebook despite my disapproval and read through. I yanked my notes back and said, ¡°no, you are lazy. And my name is Josiah, not Josie.¡±


    ¡°When you need to copy from me I am so not gonna let you.¡±


    ¡°You would be doing me a favor. The day I start copying from you I would be as brain dead as you.¡± I set my notebook on the table and continued to read from my textbook.


    ¡°At this rate you will die a virgin. No girl wants to sleep with someone so hostile!¡± he says thatand I juststare at him thinking:¡°Elyan is in love with me and finds any excuse for contact. That is the complete opposite of what I want.¡±


    ¡°I wish that were the case¡­¡± That came out from my heart and involuntarily. He stared at me wide eyed and screamed, ¡°you are not a virgin!?¡± I slammed my head on the desk. ¡°Dude! I didn''t think you would be the type to fuck up a chick!¡±


    ¡°Why are you in the military again¡­?¡±


    ¡°Dude! Who is it?!¡±


    ¡°I never said I had sex.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you did!¡± Darrell''s insisting and annoying screams brought the attention of the other classmates.


    ¡°Can you keep your damn voice down!?¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Tell me!! Wait¡­¡± He stared at me with those dumb goldfish, orange eyes when the proverbial light bulb in his head clicked on. And then it hit me when I saw him grip my notebook a little too hard. I never saw him take the notebook again, which somewhat startled me.


    He read through the poems and girly proses cringing. What was worse, he read them out loud. Elyan¡¯s shenanigans sometimes backfire so badly I end up with the short end of the stick.


    ¡°¡®My fire locks glow dim,


    and my green eyes fade,


    I took flight to the moon and back


    the nostalgia pooled in my heart.


    I am the God of Stars and Dreams.


    God; such a heavy name


    I am an insignificant nobody.


    What gives me a validation is my enigmatic flame


    and once in the black and cold void it¡¯s fair game.¡¯¡±


    I never really took the time to read and analyze but hearing Darrell narrate Elyan¡¯s deep thoughts for an entire class made me realize Elyan had a lot of dark demons eating at him. I guess dying really breaks a soul.


    ¡°It was the chick who wrote this garbage wasn''t??¡± That ticked me off. Elyan used weird proses and words but they are a manifestation of speaking his mind. It made sense to him. I really didn''t like how insensitive Darrell was and this is coming from the biggest asshole in history.


    ¡°You wanna say it again, fuckface?¡± I scowled at Darrell.


    ¡°So it is!? Who is she? What class is she in?¡± That was the sort ofbehavior, and out of context interrogation that prove fatal for the military.


    ¡°Can you stop it?¡±


    ¡°No! I must know!¡± I honestly didn¡¯t understand why he was so interested in my sex life, but it was goddamn annoying. ¡°If only you were this enthusiastic about your work¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on! Tell me!! What is she like? You can''t be into sappy women. Does she suck you good?¡±


    ¡°Even if I did had sex, I wouldn''t share my sexcapades to a nosy degenerate.¡±


    ¡°I will find out!¡± he threatened. I obviously snapped. ¡°And do what? What are you gonna do? Spread it?¡± I hissed at him with the heaviest tones my throat could produce.


    ¡°Hey now¡­ I was just--¡±


    ¡°Get it through your thick skull, you fucking twat: I dislike you. I don''t want you as a fucking friend. I rather not even see you at all. Leave me the fuck alone. If everyone knows I am a fat prick, don''t poke at me expecting me to be nice.¡±


    ¡°Geeze¡­ You are no fun at all¡­¡± Darrell tossed the notebook on the floor and went back to his table. I picked it up and stared at Darrell as he walked.


    He reminded me of a cockroach, annoying as hell and hard to get rid off.


    I opened the notebook to find a clean page again but I couldn''t help but read somepoems and most of them had the keywords, unworthy, lonely, and heartbroken.


    The first thing I did before going back home was to pick up my monthly rations and do somepersonal groceries with my monthly allowance. Upon setting foot in my apartment there was a desolate silence. I checked every single corner of my apartment and Elyan was nowhere to be found. I checked the laundry room in the basement of the building and he wasn¡¯t there either. I went back to my apartment hoping he was back and no; he wasn¡¯t. He must have been out in space, maybe he tried to find his sister. That asshole didn¡¯t even leave a fucking note or bother to take his goddamn medicine.


    I justrested on my couch waiting for that asshole to get home. Normally, I would read and recap the day''s lesson from my notebook but looking through them and seeing some of the sappy things Elyan wrote and doodled were slightly unnerving, if I actuallyread them properly. He drew himself a lot as a child with a white mermaid showing true emotions, he even added his little nieces in a few pages.


    He drew cartoon versions and comics of us. Elyan dedicated pages with proses and extremly detailed sketches of me doing mundane tasks. The one sketch that got me was of me cooking rice. It was so detailed it was almost like a Polaroid. But the one that got my heart to skip a beat was the day we kissed on the beach.


    Elyan also drew himself with a King''s crown, sitting on a throne over a glass lake. Very detailed and precise despite how cartoony and curvy his lines were.


    In one page, Elyan depicted himself in agony covered in tar, surrounded by angels. However, these were depicted in a more realistic tone and they obviouslymocked him. I set my notebook aside; the imagery was too much for me and I really couldn''t bare to see him in pain no matter how much of a douche bag Elyan is.


    I couldn''t focus at all. I had a lot on my mind and my anxiety was festering slowly. I was mostly angry, why the fuck was I given an emotion enema if it¡¯s not fucking working?


    I walked out the balcony, gritting my teeth as anger boiled in my core. The little shit left the apartment without telling me. His health was declining day by day, there was no guarantee what sort of things he was exposing himself to once he reached space. I feared the worst but even then I couldn''t do anything but wait. So I stood there, waiting for him to come back.


    I woke up the next day and Elyan was gone. I walked to the balcony with a deep sinking feeling in my heart, and from the outskirts I could see the panic and terror. A monster had been taken down. ¡°Elyan¡­¡± I whispered unconsciously.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Because of that monster, the city was in a crisis, therefore; we had practice in the morning to help around the hospital. I was scared for Elyan, apparently a demon in our custody escaped, but was later apprehended and terminated on scene.


    No, it wasn''t Elyan. If it were, I wouldn''t be telling you this story because I would be dead too.


    Civilians were involved in this crisis. Normally, Prism doesn¡¯t accept outsiders unless they were exposed to monster or demons. Most of them died on the scene and those who survived the siege were taken into the facility and over 97.7% of the victims died.


    There was one in particular we justneeded to save. This case was sad and just heartbreaking. A patient with no soul is attached to a machine and their loved ones just begged us to keep them hooked in the chances they come back. She felt pain even when you slightly touch her. Basically, she was in constant pain and stuck in an irreversible coma.


    Honestly, I was mortified. No one really understands what really happens during a vegetated state, but the only image I get is the dream I get when I hibernate in the pod; dead, but I also stuck in my ownbody, feeling everything.


    Darrell just needed to give his opinion because he always wanted to be the hero, and said, ¡°we have to try and save this patient. It is only Ethical.¡± Everyone pretty muchagreed with him. The doctor in front of us asked, ¡°who else believes otherwise?¡± I raised my hand and spoke when instructed to. ¡°I give my condolences to the family, but I think thatif the patient has no chance of recovery we should do what is best for the patient. To my understanding she is in great pain judging by charts provided. We should pull the plug.¡±


    ¡°What?! Are you insane? The chart also says the patient could recover!¡± Darrell protested.


    ¡°You should read it again, It never said she will recover. The damage to the brain is permanent.¡±


    ¡°How can you be heartless?!¡±


    ¡°I am not heartless, I am also thinking about the patient. The patient shouldn''t be forced to stay on this Earth just because the family wants them to. That, in my opinion, is also cruel and heartless¡­¡±


    ¡°And if it were someone you cared about, like your girlfriend, for instance, wouldn''t you do whatever you could to help them live?!¡±


    Darrell was making this a stupid issue, and it was irritating me rather than make me feel bad.


    I tightened my hands into a fist and swallowed thickly before I answered carefully. ¡°I am programmed to act in their best interest.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we have enough technological advances to help save her?!¡±


    ¡°Darrell, I doubt her family can afford any experimental treatments.¡±


    ¡°Well then, enough of this ethical nonsense¡­¡± The doctor stopped us from going further. I honestly wouldn''t try so hard if it was pointless.


    They took my advice, and they unplugged her. I felt better knowing she wasn''t suffering, but I felt guilty thinking there could have been a possibility of her waking up.


    After we made sure our patients were stable, we clocked out, and I went home, not after I stole a few supplies for Elyan. To my sheer dumb luck I got caught in a storm.


    I got in my apartment and first thing I did was check if Elyan was home. I check the bathroom, the study, his bedroom, the basement, nothing. The only evidence I had were his drawings on paper, his medical equipment and the chocolate foil wrappers I never bothered to pick up.


    I got back into the apartment and Elyan had just arrived himself, wearing a different attire, it was literal medieval armor covered in blood, which was slowly washed away with the storm. I quickly slammed the door open and stood in front him. It relieved me when I spotted nowounds.


    He smiled softly and leaned in to kiss my cheek, but I grabbed his wrist with a trembling hand and asked him, ¡°where the hell did you go?¡± Elyan didn''t seem phased. He was used to my behavior which was not okay.


    ¡°A monster threatened to enter your planet. So I vanquished it,¡± he answered.


    ¡°What?¡± I stared at him, not a single word register into my mind.


    ¡°It came from the void. It is not as bad as the last one but It was an epic I wouldn''t dare mock--¡±


    ¡°Are you fucking aware you are sick?!¡±


    ¡°M-my love¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you left without telling me you would fight a monster! If you put any strain in your heart, you could collapse and die out there!¡± He took a step back before I continued to yell at him. ¡°Do you not understand how worried I was?! The second they gave me the alert I was preparing to bury your body myself!¡±


    ¡°B-but my love, I have a duty to protect humanity--?¡±


    ¡°Fuck humanity!¡±


    ¡°Josiah, I swore as a god--¡±


    ¡°Jesus fucking Christ, Elyan! You are not a god!¡± I shouted at him. ¡°You are like the hunters, a man with superhuman strength! Don''t you fucking understand that?! A god doesn''t have heart failure!¡± that last scream echoed far and wide and silenced Elyan, freezing him in his spot. I then just realized what I said to him. His lips quivered trying to contain his giggle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± he whispered so softly I almost missed it. He looked down at the wet floor to avoid my angry stare. ¡°Y-you are right¡­¡± he admitted to me,it sounded like he himself was doubting his own existence and potential. ¡°How could a god like myself save the world when I can¡¯t help myself¡­¡± his body shook and his laugh was kept under shivering gasps.


    ¡°Elyan...¡± was all I could say. I was ashamed of what I said and how I exploded. I watched as he covered his face with his armor clad hands. Elyan never liked to be spectated at his most vulnerable moment, not even with me and he seems to trust me the most.


    ¡°Elyan¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Come inside¡­ Let''s give you a warm shower. I rather you don''t catch a cold.¡± I guided him inside and he fell into his knees with loud clunks and a heavy thud. ¡°Jesus fucking Christ¡­¡± That honestly scared me, but Elyan kept sinking into the ground as his laughter grew. He was having a mental breakdown, for me as a nurse, that translated to: he is straining his heart. What put me in panic mode was when he stopped laughing and clutched his chest whining quietly. I turned him over ripping off his armor and hooked him to his machines to stabilize him. ¡°A-Andromeda¡­ vhik lah-...¡± he sang softly. ¡°Elyan, relax.¡± I wanted to tell him to shut up, but this was a better alternative.


    I sedated him, it was frightening to see him stare at me with that sweet smile he always wore even after he closed his eyes, just like my patient earlier that day. I felt unnerved and paranoid throughout the rest of the night.


    Things were tense between us. Everytime I asked Elyan about anything he wouldn¡¯t answer me or if he did, he would give vague answers. What was worse, he stopped eating or caring about anything all together. He only stared out the window singing veryquietly when he thought I wasn''t around. He even held in coughs when he heard me near by.


    Day by day I would approach him with conversation to ease his nerves.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting rather cold,¡± I said, staring at the withering trees and plant life. Don¡¯t you get cold with what you¡¯re wearing?¡± Elyan shrugged. He rather stareat the wires hooked from his body to a machine. He hates it. ¡°I think you should bundle up,¡± I said holding a pair of long pants and buttoned pajamas for him. Elyan ignored me and just stared down at the IV needle on his arm. He had a soft averyfaint smile almost as if the deteriorating redhead had a broken soul. The only thing he said to mein a hush was, ¡°does it really matter¡­?¡±


    I tried to convince him to eat.


    ¡°Elyan, what do you feel like eating?¡± I asked looking at my options in the cabinet.


    My patient was sitting on his bed holding his knees to his chest. He was currently hooked up to an oxygen machine because his lungs randomly gave up on him. ¡°I am not hungry.¡± He answered, it may not be the answer I wanted to hear, but he was talking to meagain. Something in me justfelt whole again after hearing him speak. ¡°This is the fifth time you skipped a meal, you need to eat.¡± I walked up to him with a handful of grapes. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t you try these?¡± I suggested. Elyan looked at them curiously before he tried one. For some reason I felt tense watching him savor the flavor. After he swallowed, he smiled a little brighter and said, ¡°they taste sweet¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you want more?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Maybe a few¡­¡± He ate all the grapes, in case you''re wondering. I didn''t mind at all. I got him more grapes and incorporated them into different dishes. His favorite being oatmeal sweetened with grapes and blueberries. Elyan didn¡¯t eat much of it, two to three spoonfuls at a time was generous. Each day he ate more till he managed to finish the entire bowl.


    ¡°Josiah,¡± I heard Elyan peeking his head behind the door shyly. ¡°Yeah?¡± I answered immediately. ¡°Do you have any spare paper and pencils?¡± Elyan asked as he walked in. I stood up to find what he wanted. After gathering the block of paper and crayon box I catch Elyan reading from my book. He looked lost and confused.


    ¡°What is a¡­ Mioh...c-cardee--¡±


    ¡°Myocardium, is the heart tissue.¡± Elyan seemed more lost, so I set aside the crayons and the block of paper and took the book to find the diagram to explain better. ¡°The cardiac muscle is one of the three major types of muscle, the others being skeletal and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that is found in the walls of the heart. This muscle tissue is known as myocardium, and forms a thick middle layer between the outer layer of the heart wall¡ªthe epicardium¡ªand the inner layer¡ª the endocardium.¡±


    ¡°When it said tissue Ijust¡­¡±


    ¡°Saw tissue paper? Yeah it will happen.¡±


    ¡°This seems complicated¡­¡±


    ¡°I won''t lie this is eighty percent medical jargon which is annoying as hell¡±


    ¡°Why do you read this then?¡±


    ¡°Because if I want to be a full-time nurse I need to know about this. You should learn about it too.¡±


    ¡°I should¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you have a heart disease and if you understand it better, you will manage it.¡± I took the book under my arm and walked out the study. Elyan followed me. ¡°Why in the bedroom?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Because it''s more comfortable this way.¡± I sat on the edge of the bed and opened upthe book to where I had marked it.


    Elyan giggled. ¡°You are correct.¡± he sat down on the bed closeto me. I set the book on our laps so he could read along with me. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I said and Elyan read aloud the entire chapter with some difficulties. After some time of repeating the words and me correcting him he was able to pronounce them better.


    It was getting late. We read a few more together till he finally was too tired to continue. ¡°The first implantable pacemaker was used in 1958. Arne Larsson, who received the pacemaker, the first implantable pacemaker was used in 1958--¡±


    ¡°You read the same sentence twice,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I am fine¡­¡± Elyan whispered and slowly buried his face in the back of my neck. ¡°Elyan, you are tired, we can continue some other time.¡± I closed the book and pushed him off me gently to go sleep on the couch, however, Elyan snaked his arms around my torso and clungto me. ¡°Don''t leave¡­¡± he whispered lightly. I stood still in deep contemplation till I set the book on the floor and pushed Elyan off me, ¡°did you remember to take your medicine¡­?¡± I asked as I stood up from the bed. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Elyan said. I hummed lightly and claimed my side of the bed. I closed my eyes, and I felt Elyan¡¯s unrelenting stare. ¡°Josiah¡­¡± he whispered. I hummed in acknowledgement. ¡°I-is it all right if I held on to you¡­?¡± he hesitated. I suspected he needed an anchor to keep his anxiety at bay and in check. ¡°Sure,¡± I answered and immediately, he clung to meburying his face in the crook of my neck. For a while, I heard his uneven breathing pattern, then I heard a light chuckle and felt wetness on my shirt. I am not the best at this so I justawkwardly held him. I didn''t even knew how to ask why he was crying, but I am sure it was because of what I said.


    ¡°Elyan, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I said above a whisper. Elyan spoke in his weird language, and since he was ¡°crying¡± you couldn''t understand any of it. I justlet him vent. I didn''t sleep that night knowing full well I am the cause of what he is going through. The only reason he is holding me is because holding yourself is never enough, sometimes you needed someone else''s heat to warm up the cold space inside the chest cavity.


    ¡°Elyan¡­ We can try the pod--¡± I felt Elyan tense up and he shouted, ¡°n-no¡­! Josiah, please! Anything but that!¡±


    ¡°You are seriously not well¡­ The pod can help identify the issue and fix you¡­¡±


    ¡°No! please! I swear I will be okay but don¡¯t punish me for leaving! I will do whatever you--¡± He coughed up a storm. ¡°We can discuss this another time¡­¡± I dropped the topic. I rather not make him feel worse.

 Chapter_6//:Star_Gazer

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_6://Star_Gazer


    <hr>


    One morning, I woke up to Elyan¡¯s progressive cough fest. He was locked in the bathroom, throwing up. He really is trying his best to hide it to avoid the pod conversation.


    I needed to find alternatives, his medication is doing more damage than good. Too much of anything can lead to poisoning.


    I knock on the door. ¡°Elyan¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, my love¡­¡±


    ¡°I need to take a shit, get out.¡±


    ¡°I-... I¡¯m sorry--¡± he says. Most of whatever he said was muffled with the flushing and the faucet going off. The door opened, and he walked out with a strained smile. ¡°Good morning, my love¡­¡± he said as he walked past me holding his chest.


    ¡°Morning¡­ How are you feeling?¡± I ask before going in.


    ¡°I am better¡­¡± He took all his morning pills at once and washed them down with what was left of the grape juice. ¡°Josiah, I have to go get more juice--¡±


    ¡°You? you can barely walk from here to there without catching your breath¡­¡± I said before closing the bathroom door behind me.


    I take my seat and Elyan just walks in casually. ¡°Josiah, can we go together to the market? I haven¡¯t left this room in such a long time--¡±


    ¡°No, Elyan, can¡¯t you not do this now?!¡± I shouted.


    ¡°Josiah¡­¡±


    ¡°Elyan, I want have one hour to shit out my problems! We can talk later!!¡±


    ¡°Please--¡±


    ¡°Alright! Alright! I¡¯ll take you with me! Just let me take a shit!¡± That asshole smiled triumphantly for a couple of seconds before he dismissed himself. That fucking manipulating butt-hole always gets his way.


    I left the city of Prism to go grocery shopping with Elyan. I kept a close eye on him and he seemed to be fine for the most part.


    We have done this before many times and many times, the bastard would toss things without asking, but this time, he behaved. Elyan actually walk close to me and spoke quietly. ¡°Josiah, is it okay if we made soup?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­ That actually sounds like a good idea.¡± I make a turn to the next isle and grabbed the low sodium stock and dropped it in the basket. Elyan tugged my sleeve to gain my attention. ¡°My love, can we make it from scratch¡­?¡± he asked quietly with a serene smile. ¡°I am not sure how to make soup, but I guess we can try--¡± He was holding in his cough till he couldn¡¯t anymore. He covered his mouth with his hands. He was in so much pain his body scrunched over.¡°Elyan¡­¡±


    ¡°M-my love, I¡¯m alright¡­¡± he said after catching his breath.


    ¡°I can take you home and I can just order out--¡±


    ¡°N-no, I really want to make soup,¡± he begged me.


    ¡°...Then let¡¯s hurry.¡± That little scare didn''t stop him from sneaking a box of sugar free lollipops into the basket though¡­ I got them for him.


    It was harmless, and while it is not the best thing to eat when sick, he may not last long and perhaps something sweet would ease his deterioration.


    After that ordeal, we passed by a greenhouse on our way to the car. Elyan didn¡¯t even warn me, he made a sharp turn and ran inside.


    ¡°E-Elyan!¡± I ran after him, arms filled with groceries. Nothing prepared me for what I found inside, Elyan literally held a man in a choke hold. I almost dropped the bags. ¡°Elyan! What the hell--¡± the guy he was holding had a gun, and he was firing it wildly. Elyan snapped his neck, and he dropped like a dummy. It happened so fast that my training was put to shame. I also didn¡¯t see the mother, and the daughter huddled up in a corner fearing for their life.


    ¡°I told you, mommy! The king came to save us!¡± The little girl broke free from her mother¡¯s arms and ran up to Elyan and latched onto his leg. He smiled, kneeling to the little girl. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡± She giggled and threw her arms around him. I ran to the mother, dropping all of my groceries in the progress.


    ¡°Are you okay, do you need a hospital?¡±


    ¡°W-were okay, he just burst into--...¡± she hesitated.


    ¡°To what? rob you?¡±


    ¡°He heard about what I sold under the counter and¡­ Oh dear what I put my daughter through¡­?¡±


    ¡°What are you even talking about...?¡±


    ¡°Please! I will give you anything you ask for, but please, don¡¯t tell the police¡­!¡±


    ¡°Okay, lady, I won¡¯t since you¡¯re not telling me anything.¡± I was irritated, and I wanted to get home fast. But since Elyan had to be a hero, we are now involved in whatever that woman was selling in her questionable establishment.


    The police arrived, someone must have heard the gunshots. Elyan took the child away from the scene while I and the florist explained what went down. Mostly the florist¡­ I still don¡¯t understand what happened. Miraculously, Elyan nor I were charged with anything. Considering he risked his life to save another they deemed him a local hero.


    Upon leaving, the little girl ended up with a braided updo with flowers and plastic crystals tangled in it, and Elyan was gifted a flower crown of magnolias. ¡°Thank you for saving us, your Majesty,¡± the little girl said.


    ¡°It is my honor to serve you, Venus,¡± Elyan spoke while straining and holding back his coughs. I have to admire him for acting like he wasn¡¯t sick. The little girl was shocked. ¡°You know my name!¡±


    ¡°Your mother prays for you every night, so I already know you judging by your mothers description.¡± He chuckled and a few coughs slipped out.


    ¡°Can I know your name?¡±


    ¡°My name is Elyan¡­¡± He smiled humbly as he took her hands and plucked¡ª yes, he plucked¡ª one of his scale stars from his sickly skin and placed it in her hands. That isn''t cute that was disgusting! ¡°As long as you pray and sing, your nightmares won¡¯t reach you¡­¡± The little girl¡¯s eyes opened so much they almost fell out of their sockets.


    ¡°Keep it a secret¡­¡± Elyan whispered, and the girl nodded with a smile she could barely contain before she ran to her mother. I never thought Elyan would actually be a hero.


    I never heard any other rumors around that, not even slight references. I guess he is anonymous till it involves a child.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    He is very gentle around children, the perfect hero¡ª no, God. But it is an illusion, his perfection is just that.


    He can be dying, but he will do anything to save someone¡¯s life, when he said he was a god he probably meant that he felt responsible¡­ If he really is a hunter, a rogue hunter, then he really is going against his nature and he is helping those in need instead¡­ including me.


    The moment Elyan and I closed the car doors, he broke into his coughing streak. At this rate he had trouble breathing, and it made me haul ass back to the apartment.


    I helped him inside whilst holding the groceries. He ran to the bathroom, dry heaving till he, eventually, spilled the little contents of his stomach into the ceramic bowl.


    I rushed to his side to check on him. ¡°Elyan, let¡¯s get you to bed.¡± He didn¡¯t fight me, he nodded and leaned on me to help him.


    He was too ill to help me make the soup so I had to sedate him.


    Elyan slept the entire afternoon into the evening till I woke him up so he could eat the soup he really wanted to make with me. He looked disappointed.


    Elyan barely ate a spoonful, he coughed the entire meal and I couldn¡¯t give him his medication till it was time. I just resorted to give him a therapy with steroids to stimulate his lungs. He didn¡¯t question me, he just let me work.


    I was glad he put up with me and behaved, because the next day I had a drill, and boy, was it brutal¡­


    I was grateful that Elyan woke up slightly better, and he promised me he would stay in bed, in exchange I would take him with me if I had to run errands.


    So I ran, I jumped, I fought, I ran some more, I punched, I kicked, I hurt, I ran some more, I fell, I ran even more, I jumped higher, It never ended. I was running in the same spot even as I showered.


    The drills are a normal routine for us... only when war is declared.


    So, we had an actual crisis that same day, I had to run to the hospital for an emergency outbreak. I groaned and searched for my uniform but something was missing. I looked all over the locker, the floor, my uniform, my bag, everywhere. ¡°Where the hell did I put the ring¡­?¡± I couldn''t believe I lost Elyan''s ring. Yes, I actually wear it every single day.


    ¡°¡®Looking for this?¡± I heard someone say.


    When I turned I saw Darrell and his friends dangling the ring in my face.


    ¡°Darrell, stop acting immature and give me back the ring.¡± I was livid, but I was too tired to even scowl.


    ¡°What does this even mean to you? You don¡¯t care about anything. I can just throw this out and you won¡¯t feel a thing,¡± Darrell mocked me. God, if I had a hammer then I would not have hesitated to break his fucking teeth...


    ¡°Darrell, give me the fucking ring¡­¡±


    ¡°Go and get it¡­¡± The son of a bitch tossed it across the room. Many things went through my head, mostly the one hundred and one ways to murder this asshole and get away with it. I stared at him for too long which made him hysterical.


    ¡°Is that all you will do!? Gawk at me?! You should attack me! Hurt me!¡±


    ¡°I can''t. As much as I want to dig my fist into your fucking face, I can''t harm my teammates¡­ I really hate you, Darrell, but, I will take a bullet for you or anyone for that matter if necessary. I don¡¯t know what fucking stunt you are trying to pull but I swear to god I won¡¯t let his slide¡­ You better be careful, Darrell. People like you can easily disappear if you piss off the wrong person¡­ Now, piss off.¡±


    He growled and walked away. I spent more than thirty minutes looking for that ring. I never found it and it cut me deep. I didn¡¯t know how I was to tell Elyan I lost it. I rather he never found out.


    My first patient was a woman found brutalized in a back alley. She is dead but she, miraculously, is still in labor. Even with the smell of iron I could faintly detect the scent of cherry blossoms. I had a couple of minutes to save the baby. When we got it out though it was decapitated. The stab wounds to her stomach were a clear sign as to why. Another weird symptom was her purple tongue. It was very weird, and I never seen it anywhere.


    Then, another arrived alive, and she was high as a kite, brutalized and raped. She also had a purple tongue. Then I got three more patients, all with purple tongues. It was crazy. After a few hours they started to throw up and have seizures. My colleagues saw more patients with it too and we had to report it for future documentation incase we were dealing with an epidemic. We had probably around three hundred patients with the mystery illness and they were dropping like flies.


    I managed to stabilize my patients and had to help a few others with theirs, however I couldn''t stay for long, I had to check on Elyan.


    The first thing I hear when I walk through the door is complete silence.


    I encountered Elyan on his way to the bathroom though. His green eyes glowed in the dark. He wrapped himselfup in my coat and blanket. ¡°Josiah¡­¡± he whispered in a dreamy state. He sounded different too. Elyan leaned in and kissed my collar bone. I just pushed him off me and said, ¡°sorry I am late. We had a crisis at the E.R.¡± I walked past him and quickly undressed. I checked if he took his meds by counting the pills in his supply and after doing the math I fall face first on my bed.


    I could ignore the mess of candy on the nightstand, but what I couldn''t ignore was the multiple dried cum stains on the sheets. ¡°God fucking dammit¡­¡± I said lowly. Of course he was exhausted, he came all over my bed like a degenerate. I got up to change the goddamned sheets, but when I turned on the lights I realized the spots were actually black. I think he just spilled something on the bed, like cola or caramel, either way I had to change the blankets.


    A dirty blanket was the least of my problems, Elyan kept waking up, which woke me up whenever he came and went. ¡°Elyan, for fucks sakes, go to sleep!¡± I shouted. I tried to go back to sleep but Elyan left several lights on and I had to stand up to shut them off. Then the smell hit me like a bad d¨¦j¨¤ vu, I could smell the stomach acid. I then saw Elyan hunched over the toilet trembling. ¡°Elyan? What''s wrong?¡± I walked up to him.


    ¡°I feel so sick¡­¡± His voice quivered. ¡°Elyan¡­ please¡± I sighed, ¡°let me put you in the pod--¡± He panicked and clung to my boxer shorts. ¡°D-don''t hurt me¡­! I am sorry¡­! I didn''t mean it!¡± The rest was siren gibberish. ¡°E-Elyan, I need you to relax!¡±


    ¡°Nrishma! Aleok!!¡± He choked up on his words, he was sweating. ¡°Elyan, Elyan! Be quiet!¡± I pulled away from him to get his epipen. ¡°Josiah! Maei!¡± He fell on the floor clutching his chest. I acted quickly and stabbed him with his pen. Once he calmed down, I carried him to the bed.


    ¡°I am going to fix you up, Elyan¡­¡± I took his blood pressure, and it was dangerously low. I gave him an intravenous therapy and medication to ease his pain.


    He stabilized, for the most part.


    So, I mopped the floor and disinfect the apartment. I noticed a peculiar thing in my mop, it got stained with purple dye. I stare at it and the smell was faint of grapes. I looked at the lollipops on the nightstand, perhaps they were connected. I went back to check on Elyan. ¡°Elyan, say ah¡­¡± I flashed a light and when he opened his mouth, I saw his tongue and teeth stained with the dye. ¡°Elyan, what did you eat today?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ ate pancakes¡­ Then I had some rice cakes¡­ Then I ate all the lollipops,¡± he answered weakly and his accent was thick. I sighed before I resume the interrogation. ¡°Are you sure? You don''t remember anything else in particular¡­?¡±


    ¡°I felt¡­ happy after I ate the first loli so I kept eating them. Then I... I wanted nothing but you. I missed you so much but I stayed in bed taking in your scent. It was sweet and addicting. Then I felt sick. I am sorry...¡± he smiled sweetly.


    ¡°Don''t worry, I will get you better¡­¡± I checked the packaging, and each pop was wrapped carelessly, which raise the question, what the hell were in the pops? I called Darrell since he was still on shift.


    ¡°What the hell do you want--?¡±


    ¡°Save it, butt-face. I think I have a clue for the mystery cases.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Ask all the patients if they ate a pop in the last twenty-four hours.¡±


    ¡°A pop?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, or any sort of candy.¡±


    ¡°It is so weird you mention it because we had a little girl who was eating a pop from her mother''s purse. She¡¯s now in ICU after a horrible seizure.¡±


    I instantly hung up the phone after hearing Elyan''s cough fest.


    His blood pressure sky rocket. I prepared the necessary to lower it and changed his fluids. Despite my efforts, I was losing him. His heart was beating erratically. ¡°Elyan¡­ please¡­ stay with me¡­¡± I worked faster to normalize his pulse. His body convulsedand his eyes rolled back. ¡°Elyan, hold on¡­¡± I begged while I increase the dosage. He reached my shirt and pulled me down. With shivering gasps he said to me, ¡°my-... m-my love¡­ I don''t want to be in the pod...¡± he flatlined.


    ¡°Oh, hell no!! You are not going anywhere!!¡± I puncture his chest with a needle of adrenaline but he never came back...


    I ran out of options. My back hit the wall and I panicked.


    Against his wishes I hooked him into the pod. I felt as if I betrayed him again but, as much as I hate the pod, it did have its advantages. I overwrite the pod and it scanned Elyan head to toe, inside and out and it basically report me what I already knew. Two new factors were presented to me though. One, his body contained dangerous levels of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA: a drug used Prism as a psychotheraputic method to make hunters into sex fiends. And two, his heart had many scars since early life but one in particular was physically inflicted by a spear like weapon type. Or an arrow.


    ¡°Oh, my god¡­¡± I choked on my realization. Elyan can do many things, he saves humanity because that is a promise he made in order to possess such powers. He didn''t think twice to save me that night of the rapture and in return I gave him the most miserable days of his fading life. I shed tears staring at his findings. The bastard literally gifted me his heart to save my miserable life.


    I understand now why I was hunted down, I was the faulty soldier. My heart was sick, and I was going to die.Now his heart beats wildly in my chest. "Oh my god¡­¡± I could hear the phone ring but I ignored it. I just stood there staring at the God of Stars and Dreams sleeping comfortably though his coma, even then he still wore his serene smile.


    I wanted to die. I broke down. I pressed my hands against the glass to hold myself up but I slowly slid down to the ground and sobbed quietly. Was I really worth saving after all I did to him?

 Chapter_7://UFO

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_7://UFO


    <hr>


    The atmosphere in Prism was dense and uncomfortable with the absence of his majesty. I had a nightmare every single night, you could tell everyone was feeling it too. My classmates and coworkers were failing at the basics of getting their shit together because they lacked sleep.


    I didn¡¯t think my dreams would be different once outside the pod, It¡¯s debatable whether they were worse than in the pod, but I can say they were bad, unexpected and it unnerved me to no end. The fact I needed to sleep killed me. Elyan could stay awake for half a month and he didn¡¯t even flinch, I know it''s too soon to say this¡­ But fuck, why not trade sleeping habits? Or better yet, his patience, why not give me his patience?


    How the fuck did he even do it? He didn¡¯t rip out my heart. I certainly didn¡¯t see that. I mean, I don¡¯t remember that shit, but fuck. That blew my mind.


    That asshole, yes he was damaged mentally, but that motherfucker beat the odds and lasted more than what I estimated. Or better yet, why when he gave me his heart I didn¡¯t become nicer? What¡¯s up with that bullshit of a heart of gold? If anything, I became a nasty bitch that bitches all day and night and he just fucking giggles at it.


    I thought about it all as I sat on the couch staring at the pod, even the significance of him gifting his heart to me. He did say at one point, that he was in love with me and he couldn¡¯t understand why and I bet he never did... But I did fell in love with him¡­ So, I wonder over the possibilities that our roles reversed. But, Elyan never seemed to be the type to be angry. I bet before he was programmed he could get angry willingly but I never thought he had it in him to feel anger. Even with how he doodled his past self showing a variety of emotions.


    So, no. He actually loves me. And did I really love him? Yeah, I really fucking do¡ª Did I not just tell you how much of a little prick he was and I never kicked him out? I bought him food from outside my base¡ª I had to spend money on food, clothes, candy and toys to keep him happy and comfortable. Who the hell does that?? I really cared about him, but at the time I wasn¡¯t expressing it properly. Let¡¯s be real here, I am always going to be an asshole. I am a terrible person; I am mean; I am strict and I have a very short fuse, and no re-programming is going to change that. Not even the fucking grace of the God of Stars and Dreams can change that.


    Elyan had been in that pod for almost a month. He actually was getting better, his¡ª my heart¡ª was healing slowly. The pod showed a pulse, but there was no brain activity. I was in denial and it felt good. I should have just shoved him in the pod sooner, but he really was afraid of it. He could coexist with the pod as long as he had nothing to do with it.


    There was a knock on my door. I automatically stood up and answered it. ¡°Josiah,¡± Ice greeted me from the other side. ¡°Good after--¡±


    ¡°What do you want, now?¡± I was very sick of her face. She came by several times a day and pestered me at the academy and during work hours.


    ¡°I just wanted to say hello--¡± I slammed the door in her face. Fuck that. I¡¯m not going to interact with her. She knocked again. I turned on the radio to pretend she wasn''t there but every single channel streamed static. ¡°Josiah, please we have all be worried for you. You are so withdrawn, and you skipped classes for the third time this week!¡± She spoke loud through the door. I sighed in frustration and shut the damn thing off. ¡°Get the hint!¡± I shouted back as I rolled a joint in the kitchen.


    ¡°Was it what Darrell said the other day?¡± I really don¡¯t want to remember that. At that point I was willing to die if it meant breaking Darrell¡¯s face with my bare hands. ¡°Goodbye, Ice.¡± I lit up the joint and locked myself in the study. This was fucking potent.


    Believe it or not, I got my first stash from the florist Elyan saved the other day. I was walking back to my car and the little girl asked for Elyan. All could tell her was, ¡°he is out in space fighting monsters¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he fighting the nightmares¡­?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The florist caught on that Elyan is no longer with us and she knew I wasn¡¯t coping with it. One thing left to another, she got me addicted to marijuana. She is going through anxiety and she said the best remedy for that. It is the fucking plant she had been selling under the table. No wonder she panicked¡­ this stuff is illegal in Florida. Prism doesn''t give a flying fuck what you do as long as you get it done.


    I took the first puff and, I wouldn''t say the effects were instant, but time became nothing while I sat there staring at the ceiling. I took my next long ass drag and held it in till my lungs were saturated. Each drag was a little drift from my heavy and dense problems, soon, I was nowhere. I stood there on the edge of the empty universe when I realized how alone and afraid I was. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. ¡°Josiah!!¡± I heard from far away. I knew it was Elyan, so, I turned to the source of his voice and ran. ¡°Josiah!!¡±


    I drew a long and satisfying breath of clean air and I fell off the chair. ¡°Gyah!!!¡± I hit the floor hard. My breath hitched and I couldn''t stop shaking from the sudden shock.


    I heard Elyan sing in the other room. I got up and stored the herbal medicine in my desk drawer and slowly walked to the door. But I never seemed to reach it till my face collided with the door. ¡°Ow¡­¡± I rubbed my nose and opened the door to finally leave the study.


    Elyan was there making dinner. I walked over and sat by the table. Elyan looked at me with the brightest smile. ¡°Josiah, dinner don''t be ready till the egg timer goes off.¡± I glanced at the empty pots and pans and then at the broken egg timer then I looked back at him nodded quietly. Elyan stares at me, puzzled at my passive behavior.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± I whispered softly. Elyan shivered somewhat in his place. He shook his head and smiled. ¡°You just look and sound at peace. Did the herb make you feel better?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Try it with me¡­¡± I offered.


    After asking, we were in bed smoking the joint. I was laying between his legs staring at the ceiling, my body completely numb. Elyan sang softly.


    ¡°You died the other day...¡± I suddenly said. Elyan quiet his voice and shifted his gaze down to me. ¡°I never realized how many people died in my care till then¡­¡± I added.


    ¡°You did all you could, right?¡± he asked me and stole the joint taking a short drag. Obviously I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I want to feel like this¡­ every single day,¡± I said to him. Elyan looked down at me with a soft smile. ¡°Feel what, my love?¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond because I didn¡¯t know what I was feeling.


    ¡°You put me in the pod¡­¡± He said with a sad smile.


    ¡°I did¡­¡±


    ¡°You have to set me free, Josiah¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t start¡­ Not now¡­¡±


    ¡°Josiah, you need to set me free.¡±


    I kept looking up at him, my head had this urge to look to my right. I didn¡¯t want to, but I did it anyway.


    I stared at Elyan sleeping in the stasis chamber. It was surreal. The only thing on my mind is his image, I saw him everywhere I turned.


    It fucking sucked. You can¡¯t move on and let go of something until they let go of you. I guess I am at fault too. I never picked up his mess of candy foils, or laundry, or his dishes, or drawings.


    ¡°Why the fuck did you do it?¡± I stuttered, expecting an answer when I knew he would never do so.


    It was an ironic situation, A month before that I set a patient free without question, but in that moment I couldn''t face the reality of pulling the plug.


    The next day I pulled myself up, took several drags of my illegal substance and dragged my ass to the academy. When I walked in the classroom, the entire class looked towards me. I honestly shifted my eyes to the white tiles and took my seat in my table. I was high, unstable, and I knew that if Darrell said anything to me I was going to break his teeth. I prayed to any sort of deity to grant me that one wish.


    ¡°Great¡­¡± I heard Darrell grit his teeth. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t the hunters eat this asshole?¡±


    ¡°Please¡­ He is not well, try not to bother him,¡± Ice whispered to him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you of all people care for someone like this, you have a hard on for him, too?¡± God that would royally suck balls.


    ¡°Darrell¡­ Don¡¯t be jealous. You¡¯re my boyfriend--¡± I genuinely zoned out for the rest of the class thinking about nothing.


    We had basic training and armed combat that afternoon. We had to wear our full gear with tracking arm braces. My team is of five people and two of them are Darrell and Ice. This was Elyan¡¯s fault. I wouldn''t have been there if he left me to die. Listen, man, I rather die than actually be with people I really, really, I mean, really hate.


    ¡°I say Josiah should be a leader,¡± the other chick in my team suggested. ¡°He has more experience and he can guide--¡± Darrell quickly interjected, ¡°No. I will take charge. Unless Farnsworth has any objections?¡± He challenged me. I just hummed and stared at the ground. ¡°Josiah¡­?¡± another guy in my team called. ¡°Hey, you really don¡¯t look so good. Do you want to sit this one out?¡± Ice asked.


    ¡°As a leader, I won¡¯t let him slack off,¡± Darrell really had a hard on for me because I said I hated him. Did I gave a shit? No.


    This was basically a game of tag with weapons. Our objective is to take out as many team members as we could. Anything goes as long as it is to succeed. My job is to snipe from our base tower. Darrell knew I have no marksman skills, he purposely did that to make me look bad.


    ¡°Farnsworth,¡± Darrell spoke to me through the radio transmitter in my ear. ¡°5-W, Over.¡± Basically he is asking the five key questions, when, where, what, who and why.


    ¡°4-W, god in sight, 3-W Olympus override, over.¡± I said, ¡®I see a sniper on their base tower.¡¯


    ¡°Co--¡± The signal of the radio fell. I thought it was the other team causing interference. But I could see that the sniper was having issues with his ear piece. My wrist gear beeped drawing my attention and there was a wall of text. And then something talking to me.


    -->//Greetings: Hello.


    My initial thought was ¡®what the actual fuck?¡¯


    -->//Query: What year is it?


    I looked around confused before I answered. ¡°May sixteen, nineteen sixty seven.¡±


    -->//Query: Where is the god of stars and dreams?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°He is¡­ he is in a coma¡­?¡±


    -->//Statement: I see.


    -->//Query: Did he die from a heart attack?


    ¡°Y-yes¡­?¡± I was mildly scared. Not everyday something speaks through your gear when it was never built for text communication, just for status updates. ¡°Who is this?¡±


    -->//Answer: I go by Unknown.


    -->//Query: Just for confirmation, you are identification code_C-DW-0371, Correct?


    That one made me sweat. But then again that code is in my brace and should be obvious. ¡°Yes, I am First Medic Lieutenant, Josiah Farnsworth.¡±


    -->//Statement: That is wicked.


    -->//Statement: I foresaw this very event, and the only way to make things right is to help you bring him back.


    -->//Query: I understand he is in the stasis chamber?


    ¡°Yes, but how did you know that??¡± This felt like some sort of alien or some Area 51 bullshit movie.


    -->//Statement: That doesn¡¯t matter.


    -->//Statement: Just heed my message.


    -->//Statement: In (3) hours there will be a massive black out.


    -->//Statement: I hacked into the servers again and implanted a wicked virus.


    -->//Statement: Said virus is causing this very interference, and it is why we can communicate with no issue.


    ¡°Wait! That black out will seal Elyan¡¯s fate!¡± I jumped off the base tower, I was shot with paint pellets on my way out. ¡°Fuck!¡±


    -->//Statement: Not quite.


    -->//Statement: I will show you, step by step, how to bring him back.


    -->//Statement: But, in order to be 100% successful, you need the ring he gave you.


    I stopped in my tracks. ¡°I lost it¡­!¡± I shouted at the arm brace.


    -->//Advice: You have (2) hours to find it.


    ¡°You better not be a fucking joke! ¡®Cause I swear to god I will find you and make your life miserable!¡± I ran back to the showers and searched the ring like a fiend.


    -->//Statement: I have done this before many times.


    -->//Statement: It is in everyone¡¯s best interest for The God of Stars and Dreams to survive.


    I turned that shower and locker room upside down. I used my sniper rifle to break the locks of every locker in case it is hidden there. ¡°This is fucking insane!!¡± I shouted desperately.


    -->//Statement: Wait till you see what I plan for you.


    I found a glint in one of the lockers, lo-and-behold, there it fucking was. In a fucking locker. Ice¡¯s locker. She had my ring. I was too ecstatic to care at the moment. However, trust me, I didn¡¯t let it slide.


    ¡°I found it! What now??¡± I ran out the locker room like a mad man.


    -->//Statement: Stand By.


    God, that Unknown thing was killing me. I drove back to the apartment and I kid you not, I almost crashed several times because I kept glancing at the messages. I waited for him to send another, and finally, he responded again.


    -->//Requirements:


    -Blessings from The Lesser God of Knowledge.


    -The ring of spirits.


    -Artificial Incubator.


    -Sacrificial Virgin.


    -Gospel of Summoning


    -->//Statement: (4-5)Requirements complete.


    ¡°A fucking sacrifice!? Elyan is not a fucking demon!!¡± I said as I ran down the hall to reach my door.


    -->//Statement: He is.


    At the revelation, I continued to slide against the floor and fell to the side. Look, I really do not know what the hell he is, and I genuinely did not care. Elyan is Elyan, end of story.


    -->//Query: Are you O. K?


    ¡°He is what¡ª Just what the hell is he?!¡±


    -->//Statement: Hurry. The ritual will take a while to prepare, and you lack (1) requirement(s) to continue.


    I burst in the apartment and the first thing I did was check on Elyan and his status. ¡°I''m going to make it all right, Elyan¡­¡± I said to him.


    -->//Statement: Let us start with invoking the Lesser God.


    ¡°How the hell I even do that!?¡±


    -->//Statement: Stand by.


    ¡°Come on! It¡¯s been more than an hour!¡± This was way too complicated for someone like me. ¡°Why do I need his blessings?!¡± that was an excellent question.


    -->//Statement: You need protection if anything goes wrong.


    -->//Evocation: Chasim, leik. Elyan, Florehm la merxill. Soujina Merxill. Klame, umnai, stratosfumm. Prus tei garduu lamen ictuna merxill. Marqunnsynacn, Omnu pastus lam, merxill, umnai.


    Yeah, no. At that point in my life I was too old for ridiculous satanic rituals. But I was also desperate. ¡°I can¡¯t pronounce any of this!¡± I shouted at the stupid brace.


    -->//Statement: The God of Stars and Dreams probably said each of those at least once in front of you.


    -->//Statement: One other thing.


    -->//Advice: You can¡¯t say this angry.


    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me!? I can¡¯t!!¡±


    -->//Statement: I don¡¯t think you understand the severity of singing that with a specific emotion.


    ¡°No! I wouldn¡¯t be yelling at my fucking brace!!¡±


    -->//Statement: Very well.


    -->//Statement: Relax.


    -->//Advice: This entire evocation will translate differently according to what you are feeling.


    -->//Advice: You don¡¯t want to accidentally get the bad end of the stick with these gods.


    -->//Advice: So I suggest you calm down and record the evocation into your mind before making a fool to yourself.


    -->//Statement: One other important thing I can¡¯t be careless with.


    -->//Advice: This is demon/god bait. There is a slight chance something out in the beyond will hear you and answer your call.


    -->//Statement: I caused a storm that nearly wiped out an entire city because I didn¡¯t understand the severity of these songs.


    ¡°What the hell did I get myself into¡­¡± I said as I read the wall of text. Honestly, this was stupid and there was probably a thousand ways to get him back. Like pulling the fucking plug. I carefully read the evocation in my mind before proceeding to try and recite it. ¡°Ch-chasime, laeek. Elyan¡­ F-florh la merxill. Soujina Mehrshyll¡­¡± I stopped after I felt a nervous chill run up and down my spine. I looked down at the brace. ¡°Is it normal I feel like I want to shit my pants?¡± I asked.


    -->//Statement: It is a possibility considering you are feeling scared.


    -->//Statement: Not to worry.


    -->//Statement: I did promise to guide you.


    -->//Statement: I won¡¯t let the God of Stars and Dreams perish.


    -->//Statement: You were doing well, continue.


    -->//Statement: Be more confident.


    I looked up at the stasis pod where Elyan slept and took a deep breath. ¡°The shit I do for you¡­¡± I said before I scrolled up to read the enchantment or whatever. ¡°Chasim, leik¡­¡± I said under my breath. I drew another gust of oxygen before I continued. ¡°Elyan, Flohrem la merxill.¡± The balcony window burst open and cold air rushed in, flipping everything it tangled in its rage. ¡°Soujina Merxill. Klame, umnai, stratosfumm. Prus tei garduu lamen ictuna merxill. Marqunnsynacn, Omnu pastus lam, merxill, umnai.¡± As I finished that statement and blunk away the sheet of reality, a million crows sat in every corner of the room watching closely, listening to my prayer. I could see colors that do not exist in my reality. The only ray of light that existed was the small dim flame of Elyan¡¯s fiery red hair.


    -->//Statement: He answered.


    -->//Statement: Congratulations.


    ¡°W-what now?¡± I stuttered as I gawk at Elyan¡¯s scales floating around the artificial tank. He resembled a snow globe, and it was kind of pretty. I pressed my hands against the glass, and the sensation was scary.


    Elyan''s eyes opened. Those green eyes could glow in the dark like a firefly and now they are a faded pastel green. The pod acted strange, malfunctioning and giving errors that the person inside was not Elyan.


    -->//Statement: You might want to hurry.


    -->//Statement: Sing.


    ¡°Sing? Why the hell do I have to sing? I can barely sing!¡±


    -->//Statement: You are running out of time.


    -->//Statement: You have (30) minute(s) left before the blackout happens.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the song?¡±


    -->//Statement: I do not possess the song.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± I was panicking and losing my goddamn mind. ¡°What the hell am I even supposed to sing!


    -->//Statement: It exists in your time. But in my time, the song doesn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°Why?!¡±


    -->//Statement: He hasn¡¯t composed it yet.


    -->//Advice: There has to be something, a clue to hint at the idea of the song.


    ¡°You are killing me!¡± I scrambled across the room, the crows were actually helping me but we found nothing. I pulled my hair thinking about everything he did, everything he said but it all came into a blank rush and I thought of all the times he pissed me off.


    I let go of my hair at the epiphany and ran into my study and yanked at all the drawers and found my notebook. The one he doodled and wrote all over. ¡°Elyan your shenanigans proved useful after all¡­¡±


    -->//Query: What did you find?


    ¡°That son of a bitch ruined one of my notebooks to write his deep thoughts. Maybe I can find it there.¡±


    -->//Statement: That is wicked.


    -->//Reminder: You have (15) minute(s) left.


    ¡°Yeah, no, don¡¯t pressure me or anything,¡± I growled as I flipped the pages to find the poems he wrote. But none were helping and I won¡¯t be able to decipher his siren gibberish. Then it hit me. I looked around for a pencil and paper that was tossed, luckily, close to me after that wind mumbo jumbo from earlier. I tore the pages I wanted to use, and I wrote down the lyrics.


    -->//Reminder: (1) minute(s).


    I turned to Elyan and recited the words on the paper. I didn''t sing. I just said it in a rhyme. Or what I can humbly call a rhyme.


    "Your fiery hair glows dim,


    and your eyes they fade.


    The darkness and the void are slowly consuming you whole.


    Your world needs you, the silence is unbearable.


    from the moon and back, the nightmares seethe


    the ring orbiting around your wrist


    is the answer to this planetary siege.


    Your voices calms my dreams.


    The serene tune, they echo far in ripples,


    through thinnest satin and thickest concrete."


    I kinda winged it at this point.


    "You are here at our song,


    so, where the hell are you now?


    You selfish kuck!


    Also,


    You left a mess of foils on the ground.


    You better come back home and pick it the fuck up!


    I swear to god,


    and any deity in fucking sky jungle,


    I will personally drag your royal ass from the afterlife!¡±


    That last bit I said it with anger hammering down every verse as I pounded the glass till it broke under my rage. The fluid and scales pooled into the floor below my feet as I stood back in mild horror at what I did. I even broke my arm brace in the process.


    The lights in the entire city went out. The light of the evening dyed the room in red velour. The crows that once surrounded me flocked in an insanity spiral and flew out the window.


    Elyan shut his eyes for a second before they opened wide with a bright shade of green. His hair was an unrealistic neon red shade and his scales shifted colors in the light. It was surreal. ¡°Josiah¡­?¡± Elyan looked confused, not with a smile, he was actually confused. ¡°W-why am I¡­?¡± I quickly unhooked him from the cables and helped him out. ¡°You¡­ called me?¡± he smiled softly as he asked. ¡°Yeah. Black out.¡± I said. I could barely contain my shit and if I spill anything else I will spill more water on the floor than I should. And I can¡¯t show weakness to him because he will exploit it to buy more candy.


    I honestly thought those joints were a bad trip, I should have been used to bullshitery.


    We both looked out into the balcony watching the stars rain down into the city. Huge meteorites broke through the stratosphere. It doesn''t take a genius to say we''re all going to die. ¡°Josiah¡­I--¡± I interrupted him. ¡°I know... ¡± I grabbed my medical gear and said, ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡± He smiled brightly and leaned in to kiss me. I shoved him lightly. ¡°Elyan, not now!¡± I shouted. ¡°I am still pissed at you for never picked up the fucking foils!¡± His smile softened and said, ¡°then when I return I will toss them.¡± He jumped into the air and twisting and turning as the ring blade orbit his body. Like a shooting star he sliced through the comets bursting with glitter and stardust. I was back on my normal routine.

 Chapter_8://Gravity

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_8://Gravity


    <hr>


    Despite how badly those meteorites destroyed half of Prism, we were okay. We lacked soldiers and staff members so I had to work extra rounds, no questions nor complaints. Not that I minded, it felt as though my routine was back to normal.


    After my rounds, I went to the store outside of Prism. I always go there but it was the only alternative because the base bazaar was destroyed.


    I normally grab a basket, but I chose a cart to fill up on supplies. I had a list so I wouldn''t forget anything. The best part of shopping outside was the fact no one knew me. ¡°Josiah?¡± I cursed under my breath when I heard my name. Ice and Darrell were shopping at the same store. I wanted to die. ¡°Josiah, I didn''t know you be frequenting at the supply market.¡± Ice smiled. Darrell wasn''t too happy to see me. ¡°I didn''t think you even buy food considering you have a pod¡­¡±


    ¡°I used to have a pod,¡± I clarified. I continued to read the ingredients of the box in my hand, scanning for keywords such as milk and by products. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would be eating so much. Unless it has to do with your girlfriend¡­¡± Ice commented.


    I glanced at her before continuing to scan the box before I placed it back on the gondola. Apparently, thanks to Darrell¡¯s stupid melodrama, people thought I actually had a girlfriend. ¡°I don¡¯t have a girlfriend,¡± I answered and pushed the cart down the aisle looking for another alternative to make sweet rice.


    I think the correct term is I have a boyfriend. At the rate our relationship was we just had a silent understanding.


    ¡°Really? Then could it be for your roommate?¡± she asked. It was no secret he was living with me, many of our neighbors had to see him at least once. ¡°Speaking off, where is he?¡± Ice asked.


    ¡°Did he leave because he couldn''t handle the hostility?¡± Darrell asked.


    ¡°He works,¡± I answered somewhat in a soft growl. I did notice something off about them, I saw outlines of pinks and blues on Ice and red and yellow on Darrell. This was a new thing, and I don¡¯t know if the ritual I was in has anything to do with it. It wasn¡¯t just them, it was everyone. Everyone had this assortment of colors bouncing off their skins. I felt dizzy if I stared for too long.


    Ice and Darrell followed me the entire store, questioning me, pestering me, pissing me off. I had enough of them fucking around with me and I just waited my turn at the line, but there they were, talking bullshit to me. I internally cursed the woman in front of me looking for her goddamned coupon clips for not having them in the ready. She didn¡¯t find them, she instead pulled out a bag of coins and quarters. I palmed my frustration and grit my teeth before I exploded. The cashier counted them pretty quick and completed the sale. ¡°Thank you for shopping with us, have a great day.¡± I sighed in relief, I pushed my cart forward and the clerk scanned them with a quick pace.


    The aura he had was so warm and inviting, it changed the moment we glanced at each other''s eyes. I had to double take, the red hair sort of startled me. ¡°Wow, it is true, his hair is really, really red¡­¡± Darrell whispered to Ice. ¡°He looks a bit¡­ fat don¡¯t you think?¡± Ice asked Darell. ¡°He looks very familiar, too,¡± she added.


    The cashier ignored the comments about him. He flashed me a sweet smile and continued to scan my items. ¡°Your total amount is thirty dollars with ninety cents,¡± he said. I knew I bought a lot, but that wasn¡¯t the total. ¡°There must be some mistake--¡± I see him shove a chocolate bunny ear into his plump lips before shoving the box of chocolates and assorted candies into my cart. I took a deep breath before I gave him the exact amount. Blue and white stripes looked really good on him. ¡°See you at home, my love¡­?¡± he whispered to me. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll start dinner.¡± Elyan flashed me a chocolate stained smile before I left.


    Elyan and I agreed he needed to get a job to fill in his free time since I am almost seventy-two hours in the hospital at a time. He thought it would be a great idea to work at a supermarket considering that the most we spend is on food. Soon, we''ll be spending a lot in clothes because what Ice said was true, he was fattening up. Not morbidly obese but he was on the fluffy side. I didn¡¯t mind it either. It¡¯s pleasant to see him in a healthy glow rather than watch him fall apart.


    The first thing I did when I got home, was to spark the joint and instantly my body numbed and I was able to see things in front of me, like how clean the apartment was. I was thrilled to see that Elyan still does his chores. Before leaving to work, he tries to finish most of what he can. I feel bad he now deals with the house work by himself most of the time but he didn¡¯t seem to mind as long as I pulled my weight.


    I was stuck in my own head though. The event, while not as bad as a rapture, it was high up there. All my mind wondered about was what the hell is Elyan. I thought about this for a while now and it doesn¡¯t scare me as much as it should. Maybe we bonded to the point we are comfortable in each other''s presence but I kept thinking about what that Unknown was telling me, ¡°wait till you see what I have planned for you.¡± That honestly scared me, mostly because his presence was both appreciated and disturbing. I know he has something to do with Elyan, but even Elyan was at a loss and perhaps his brother-in-law could tell him.


    I have several clues as to what Elyan could be: first he resembles a hunter. It is of no surprise he has attributes and many striking similarities to the ones I witnessed, but he is the only hunter with free will. He said he was a god. While some things do check out, like his essence and his unusual characteristics and ties to the outside, I feel that he is not just a god, but he is also a demon. I never met one but I guess that term is derogatory. Not everyone speaks of demons lightly unless it is a romanticize version of them. I guess in Elyan¡¯s case it is true, but I bet if I sneak into the core files of Prism I can figure out what they found and what he is.


    Elyan didn¡¯t deny the fact he wasn¡¯t a demon. We talked about it the day we bought a rug and tried it out. ¡°Are floor rugs just artificial grass?¡± Elyan asked rolling on the white plush mat.


    ¡°I am not entirely sure.¡± I answered simply due to me studying for a test scheduled for the following week. ¡°My father, grandparents and my sister¡¯s wings were this soft¡­¡± He nuzzled his face on the carpet. I lowered the book and looked at him. ¡°They had wings?¡±


    ¡°Yes, over their heads.¡±


    ¡°How come you don¡¯t have any?¡±


    ¡°My mother didn¡¯t have any.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡±


    ¡°My mother, was not human, she is a demon. She had a mind and body parts that do not resemble a human. What made her a demon was how she birth her children, I was her first born, and while yes I had similarities to them I was very different from them.¡±


    ¡°But your other siblings, they certainly sound demonic according to what you described to me.¡±


    ¡°Because they are a higher power than us. My father could intimidate anyone because of how beautiful he was. Most of the time he hid his face with his wings to avoid that. Mother, she had a horn pierce her head and her knees bent backwards, as well as having eight eyes and a humanoid body.¡±


    That blew my mind somewhat, and it also unnerved me. I could only picture her knees broken. ¡°Hold up, your mother was half unicorn?¡± Elyan¡¯s laugh ruptured his chest. Apparently he too pictured what I did. ¡°In a sense, yes!¡± he answered before he quiet down and ran a hand across the soft surface of the carpet. ¡°I was always jealous of my sister¡­¡± I kinda figured there would be family feuds. ¡°My sister resembles my grandfather. She is closer to them than I will ever be. I resemble more of my mother, but my mother was so beautiful and I am so ugly¡­¡± He pressed his hand on his neck under his jaw. That scar never healed. It was just there. I expected that the pod would remove any trace of it.


    ¡°Well, if it makes you feel any better, I like you this way,¡± I said. Elyan looked up at me curiously. ¡°Why so?¡±


    ¡°Because if you had chicken wings coming out of your head I would be dreading the mess you would make flapping those around.¡± Elyan stared at me before exploding into laughter. ¡°It is true! My father sometimes would slap my mother¡¯s face with his wing accidentally! And my sister once tried to catch petals but her wings would blow them away from her grasp!¡± I crack a smile and I set my book aside. ¡°I bet she was frustrated,¡± I commented.


    ¡°Oh! she was.¡± Elyan tried to speak in between his fit of giggles. ¡°I remember her crying so much because she wanted a flower crown like my mother, so I made her one with rock salts and pearls¡­¡± he paused, savoring the memory before sharing it with me. ¡°The smith helped me make it for her. Now she only wears pearls.¡± He glided his fingertips across the bracelet longingly.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    ¡°Your sister sounds spoiled.¡±


    ¡°My sister is at a great disadvantage at home, so we protect her and spoil her.¡±


    ¡°How is she at a disadvantage?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s blind, and she has a long tail. She''s really pretty too, and she can only sing!¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, I get to meet her then,¡± I grabbed my book to continue reading.


    ¡°I hope so too...¡± He glanced out the window.


    ¡°So in a sense they all had a unique trait?¡± I asked him. I wanted to know him better to understand his behavior.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered with a smile.


    ¡°What is your unique trait?¡± He went eerily quiet and avoided my look. ¡°M-my unique trait¡­?¡± he echoed. I watched him carefully for any signs of distress. After a long lingering silence, he grasps a strand of red hair and whispered, ¡°my hair¡­¡±


    While he did tell those tales, I can¡¯t help but feel he was just crazy. Well obviously if you were in my stead wouldn¡¯t you think the same thing? I thought I was just unsatisfied. Mostly because I still do not understand how powerful beings were so careless to lose their child. But according to what he said, he sounds more like a hunter that was bred in captivity.


    I finished dinner; sweet rice with strawberries and blueberries for Elyan, and spicy chicken and rice for me. It didn¡¯t take him long to get home. ¡°My love, I am home,¡± Elyan announced. I took one last drag before I put out the joint under my boot. I was more aware of his aura, he was talking to me about his day but I didn¡¯t hear anything. I could have been so high I couldn¡¯t come down or I was just as crazy as he, give or take.


    ¡°Josiah?¡± he called to me, apparently he was doing that for a while now. I just hummed to let him know I was listening. ¡°You look¡­ dazed?¡± he was concerned despite how sweet he wore his smile. ¡°Your¡­¡± I started to say, and I just drifted off, watching his aura shift with his scales. ¡°My what?¡± he asked, he took a seat next to me at the table. ¡°My what¡­?¡± he whispered carefully. ¡°... Dinner is ready,¡± I finished saying. I knew it¡¯s not what I had in mind but I was making us both uncomfortable. I was hungry too, maybe I was just trying to tell him and myself to shut up and eat. He just smiled and said, ¡°I know.¡±


    Elyan was first to finish. ¡°I will shower and go to bed early. I am tired, I know you are¡­¡± he chuckled and walked towards the bathroom. I nodded slowly and followed him. As he undressed I proceeded to wash my teeth. ¡°Josiah,¡± Elyan called to me, I looked at him as I shoved my toothbrush in my mouth. ¡°Would you like to join me?¡± he asked. Normally, I don¡¯t like showering in such a small space, especially with how big he was getting. It is inconvenient and every time Elyan asked, I always respond no. However, I nodded yes and undressed. Elyan was mildly shocked when I got in the shower, toothbrush still in my mouth.


    We took turns under the showerhead while the other lathers up in soap. I stared at his back and I slowly reached to touch it with soapy fingers and traced constellations on his skin. Elyan jumped at the sudden contact and looked back over his shoulders, giggling. ¡°What are you up to?¡± he asked me.


    My toothbrush was lost somewhere in the shower. ¡°Your skin is really pretty¡­¡± I rub my hands with soap and watch the water drag it along down his thick, muscular legs till it swirled down the drain in a rhapsody. ¡°You caused quite an uproar in the supermarket¡­¡± I said very quietly. My tongue had a mind of its own, ¡°and your warm¡­¡± I coil my arms around his torso and press my face against his back. Elyan was stunned at my approach. He turned and cupped my face between his slippery hands. ¡°You¡¯re not ugly, Elyan¡­¡± I said before he spoke to me.


    Those statements are still true, I guess somewhere deep in my mind I wanted to tell him at the moment he needed to hear it but I am too much of a stuck-up bitch to say it. ¡°Elyan, you and I... cease being humans the moment we start counting differences between us and everything else. However, it¡¯s things like these that I find endearing about you¡­¡± Despite how pungent the soap was, I could faintly smell his original scent. His scent was¡­ strangely salty but like a star cluster? In my high that was the best scent.


    I had no fucking idea what the fuck I was saying or where I was going with that tangent, but Elyan was moved; his eyes glazed like the stars in space, even the faint stars on his flushed skin glimmered into an array of colors. ¡°Josiah¡­¡± Elyan whispered before he covered my chest and neck with kisses. It was so light I barely felt them. My heart felt lighter, too. I could see stars wherever his fingers touched. It felt warm. It was the same sensation I felt when he healed my wounds that night. It felt like adrenaline, like waking up to a good day, or jolts of electricity, or eating rice, or standing by the grace of Elyan.


    Both of us stopped when we heard a knock on our door. We pressed our foreheads together and gave each other a knowing look before I slipped from his hold to leave the shower. I left a soaked trail, and I answered the door. On the other side of the door, Darrell stood with a guilty look on his stupid face. He literally killed my buzz and my face contoured from a dreamy relaxed state to a scowl. ¡°H-hey Josiah,¡± he stammered. ¡°I hope I am not interrupting anything¡­¡±


    ¡°On with it, dildo...¡± I demanded an answer. God, I was so pissed I was finally opening up to my fucking boyfriend and some douche needed to interrupt us. ¡°Look, I just wanted to invite you and your girlfriend to dinner with me and Ice. I feel like I haven¡¯t been treating you with the respect you deserve.¡± I wanted to punch him. Neither of them understood I hate them.


    ¡°No.¡± I slammed the door in his face. ¡°Is that the same man from earlier today?¡± Elyan asked as he left the bathroom.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I answered rather hostile. ¡°I feel bad for him,¡± he said and tossed me a clean towel so I could dry my hair.


    ¡°I fucking don¡¯t, why do you feel bad?¡±


    ¡°He is trying to act like you.¡± I stopped and looked at Elyan as all the pieces click into place. ¡°His girlfriend doesn¡¯t love him¡­ they, they don¡¯t feel normal. Unlike us, we are comfortable with one another. Annoying as he seems, he is wrapped around her fingers.¡± I never saw it that way till he pointed it out. I actually felt genuine concern over Darrell because Ice was named that way for a reason: she legit had ice in her veins. She was a stone cold bitch. ¡°I am impressed you can read people so easily.¡± I walk over as he prepared our sleeping garments for the night. ¡°My best asset is my hearing.¡± Elyan slipped under the covers and I follow suit. ¡°Perhaps, we should consider his offer?¡± Elyan asked. I just hummed in deep thought.


    Suddenly Elyan sits up and whispered, ¡°do you hear that?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I propped myself over my elbow.


    ¡°... He''s crying,¡± Elyan said. I groan in frustration and I cover my head with the blanket. I knew what that meant. ¡°Elyan, please don¡¯t make me beg my enemies¡­¡±


    I fucking hated my boyfriend sometimes¡­


    He had woken up early and told Ice about our date in the evening. Elyan picked a carnival.


    I was studying for my thesis meanwhile Elyan picked out what to wear. I looked down at my ring and thought about what Elyan said the night before. To be honest, I was slightly uncomfortable about this entire situation. I set aside my thesis and got ready with him, and by getting ready, I mean get high enough to survive a night with Darrell and Ice.


    We agreed to meet at the carnival near the Merry-Go-Round. They were running late, so I watch Elyan get on, he was ecstatic as he spun around with the mermaid statues and sea-horses. It was rather mesmerizing, and even hilarious as the children were following his lead as he sung. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to change your mind or even agree to this.¡± I hear Ice say standing next to me. I just hummed. I look back again and there stood Darrell beside her, holding cotton candy. ¡°So where is your date, anyway?¡± Darrell asked rather passively. I dart around the Merry-Go-Round looking for him. He burst gracefully from the ride and landed slowly defying all gravitational law. I was not impress whatsoever. ¡°show off¡­¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Hey ain''t he the guy from the supermarket?¡± Darrell was rather impressed by the way he gawked at Elyan. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re his roommate? I thought we were having a double date.¡± Ice didn¡¯t catch on. ¡°He isn''t my roommate,¡± I said.


    ¡°Then who is he?¡± Ice wondered as her eyes got lost in his slick back red hair. ¡°He is my boyfriend,¡± I answered. Elyan smiled softly and extended his hand towards them. ¡°We were never properly acquainted,¡± he said.


    Ice and Darrell were flabbergasted, almost offended by the thought. Darrell dropped his cotton candy and Ice almost dropped her jaw. I was mildly irritated they left him hanging. ¡°You¡¯re gay!?¡± They shouted. Elyan slowly retreated his hand back feeling somewhat embarrassed of their behavior. I could actually sense his anxiety and I almost felt bad.


    Almost¡­


    We walked around and all of us felt a mild tension brewing. We had to stop somewhere because Elyan really wanted ice cream. ¡°Sooo¡­ How is it living with Josiah, Elyan?¡± Ice asked trying to cut through it. ¡°It is wonderful.¡± Elyan said cheerfully. ¡°I bet he must be a hard ass huh??¡± Darrell asked, with a soft laugh.


    ¡°No, Josiah is very kind.¡± Elyan replied. ¡°Vanilla?¡± I asked him. ¡°And chocolate syrup, please!¡± he added.


    ¡°I bet he loves you very much if he allowed you to stay with him. Josiah was straight until recently,¡± Ice said looking at me. I pay for the ice cream and hand it to Elyan, which he licked contently. ¡°We just understand each other,¡± I jabbed at Ice giving her a frigid look of my own. ¡°Do you really¡­?¡± Ice challenged me. ¡°Cause most of the time, you both fight like cats and dogs,¡± she added. ¡°Yeah, so?¡± I questioned her.


    ¡°Hey look!¡± Elyan pointed at the clown making balloon animals. ¡°Hey that looks pretty neat!¡± Darrell said to Elyan. ¡°Let''s go get one!¡± he added, and both raced down the street, almost assaulting the clown. I crack a tiny smile and followed them.


    The clown was freaked out two grown men asked for full armor and weapon. Elyan in the end helped the clown make really weird things till they ran out of balloons. They played war, Elyan with his army of children and Darrell commanded his. I think they were the funnest attraction of the entire carnival. Imagine a giant chess game, live action with role playing. I guess Elyan brought the inner child out in all of us.


    Ice wan''t too happy with the whole date, she was a sourpuss the entire time. You expect that behavior from me. She was standing in a corner glaring daggers at us. Something evil festered in the corner of my heart, like if she whispered curses at me and Elyan. But I ignored her, jealousy is a scary monster and I rather not deal with her. Besides, the whole point was to make Darrell more comfortable, and it was working, they played for hours and won many prizes.


    The last thing we did was ride the Merry-Go-Round, more like run the opposite direction it went. Darrell looked happy, and not the annoying type he always was, but relieved. Elyan sparked something in everyone, whether it was joy, nostalgia, or even love. I think that was his celestial essence, the one I fell in love with. And I think, in a way, Darrell fell in love, too.


    As I ran the other way, I see Elyan standing with a soft smile, he was waiting for me. Our hands met halfway, and we slowly floated, the ride was our anti-gravitational chamber. We pressed our foreheads together before our feet touched the ground and the ride slowly stopped. He sang to me, ¡°Surma, Florhem.¡± No clue what he said, but my heart understood, because it was beating a billion fucking light-years per second.

 Chapter_9://C20H25N3O

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_9://C20H25N30


    <hr>


    My life turned upside down after I graduated from med school. My skills as a nurse were polished to the point I was hired to make rounds in the Secret Bio Department of Prism. Basically, it means now I am good enough to take care of hunters. I will say this though that hospital reeked of flowers and roaches, and it really added to my anxiety.


    The first two days we had protocol seminars, and it was boring because it was the same protocol in any hospital. I was getting slightly irritated because of how pointless this all was. Sometimes when things get too repetitive, it will make a person crazy and rebel just to fuck it up. My wing partner was Darrell. Believe it or not, after that night we all went out, Darrell toned down the annoying and was a normal happy person. By normal happy person, I mean he was tolerable to a degree.


    We had the tour of the very advanced laboratory and equipment, even the pods we normally use seem so outdated compared to these. One pod contained an embryo, it smelled like lilacs and the aura was a tinge of red. These unborn children will grow up to be the bane of my existence.


    The most ruthless, and sadistic man to ever give us the tour was Sargent Cyanide. He is, so fucking disgusting and morally incorrect on so many levels I couldn¡¯t bare it, and they programmed me to shrug at the most vile. ¡°... This is a special order from Russia. Capable of surviving the worse of winters and hell fire, this hunter will be used to take down their enemy,¡± he said as he pass around a chart with hypothesis and specifications of the order. ¡°This is inhuman¡­¡± Darrell whispered. I hummed quietly in agreement. It was all written in codes. The bar-code or identification number was W-R-0098, basically it means Tungsten, Red, and numbers produced. Prism, in a sense, is a black market. I am sure, Prism is the number one culprit to start a war.


    It wasn''t till we reach level four that we watched a live experiment to test out how durable these soldiers really where. ¡°Observe how this child dies and comes back,¡± Sargent Cyanide said as he cued the staff to infuse strange fluids into the kid''s body. The child suffered; screaming and begging to be freed of his nightmare. He died in seconds, and about a few minutes in he drew a breath of life and screamed in pain and died again. It was like watching a cockroach after you stomp it. ¡°Now this is all fine and dandy, but what if that becomes a monster?¡± Cyanide said.


    A boy with red long hair and purple eyes with long broken angel wings went inside the room. Sargent Cyanide pressed a button on a remote in his hands and the child''s mask fell off, the child tilted his head side before he approached the screaming specimen and ate him. Many of us couldn''t stomach that monstrosity. Darrell almost threw up. The boy with red hair looked at the one way glass mirror, he was aware he was being watched.


    ¡°That is my perfect hunter. My pride and joy, Marcello. Created from a god¡¯s seed and my own.¡± Sargent Cyanide said.


    I was too quiet. Everyone was taking notice of my shocked behavior. I just told them, ¡°I think I left my coffee maker on in my pod back home.¡±


    After orientation, I went home. I was exhausted, I wanted to eat then sleep for the rest of my life with my boyfriend.


    I hesitated to open the door. The boy''s image haunt me and I think it will forever. I was scared. I rubbed my bar-code on the back of my neck, realizing Elyan and I weren''t so different when I thought about it. We were both created in the same lab, we were torchered, humiliated and re-reprogrammed. I never met him and I knew he never knew me back in the facility. But it could be because we were in different sectors. So close¡­ yet so far.


    I walk in the apartment and I see all the furniture stuck on the ceiling. I let out my frustrations through my nose, and the moment I set foot in on the tile I shoot up and bang the ceiling. ¡°Mother fucker!!¡± I shouted when the pangs of pain tingle in waves around my jaw. Something pinned me. Then I see Elyan, The God of butt-holes and douchebaggeries, moping the fucking floor. ¡°I¡¯ll put you down soon, Josiah,¡± the ass wipe said and took his sweet ass time in cleaning the floor.


    It wasn¡¯t after he put the stupid mop and bucket in the stowaway closet did he help me down. He reached an arm towards me and I slowly floated downward and into his arms smiling brightly. ¡°Welcome home, Josiah--¡± I pushed his fat ass face away with my hand. ¡°Couldn''t you put me down earlier?!¡±


    ¡°And leave you running around with filth underneath the soles after all my hard work?¡± he chuckled and put down. ¡°I doubt it, my love.¡± He placed a kiss where my bruise was clear and continued to drop the furniture where they went. ¡°I¡¯m sorry love, I lost track of time, I thought perhaps you would arrive later,¡± he said. I realized he was too busy cleaning to start dinner, and I was too tired to even think about lifting a pot. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± I asked. If he wasn¡¯t hungry, I could skip dinner and just go to bed. ¡°I am very hungry. What do you want me to cook?¡± he walked over the clean and pristine kitchen and checked the cupboard.


    ¡°I was thinking¡­ How about we go eat out?¡± I said to him while I removed my itchy as hell uniform to jump in the shower. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Elyan asked with a gentle smile, I had suspicions he wanted to eat outside. ¡°Yeah¡­ You pick.¡± I closed the door and took a shit.


    We ate at our favorite diner. We frequent that establishment we knew the staff and they knew exactly what we wanted to eat. I ate rice and peas, mashed potatoes and fried chicken. Elyan asked for seven, I repeat, seven chilli dogs, and a chocolate cheesecake. We both split the malt.


    ¡°Josiah, if you can replace one human at a time with an artificial human, would they still pay twenty-five cents for a loaf of bread?¡± Elyan asked. I wasn¡¯t listening to him well, so, I just hummed in doubt. ¡°The sudden change of humans as weapons will become a necessity rather than a luxury. There will be an entire civil rights movement to change the law. I guess that by the time Prism changes everything, a loaf of bread could inflate to twenty-five dollars.¡± That was a genuine question considering what we were dealing with. ¡°That is indeed an interesting concept you brought into the table. I personally think you are correct, but I doubt it will happen so fast considering how expensive the technology is at the moment,¡± I commented and took a sip of the malt.


    ¡°I can understand that, but I think Prism is aiming for that,¡± Elyan added after he swallowed his third chilli dog. ¡°Why eat bread when you can just relax in a pool of minerals or even consume the extracts by pills? Wouldn''t food be a luxury item?¡±


    ¡°That''s if Prism continues to grow. I think it will take a long time for everyone to adjust to it. Unless, as you say to replace us with a better vessel.¡± I take another bite before continuing. ¡°While that sounds appealing at first glance, I don''t think it is possible for us to live around a stasis chamber. The possibilities of a pod breaking down will require a number amount of basic training just to manage it. It took me a while to learn how to use it properly. and the ones in the Bio Department are so advanced I don¡¯t think I will understand them till I am forty. In fact, what if someone is stranded without one? They will die. I don¡¯t see the practicality in here unless it is easier to control the population.¡±


    ¡°I guess it is easier, to not worry about it, but since we are clearly in the middle, I doubt we have any choice but to fear the outcome. Specially after your strange encounter with this Unknown.¡± That sparked another thing that clouded my mind. ¡°Did you managed to find out information?¡± I asked. Elyan hesitated as he poked his cheesecake. ¡°Crow knows who he is but he¡­ can¡¯t remember who it is.¡± Elyan smiled nervously.


    ¡°Convenient¡­¡± I said deadpanned.


    ¡°But he told me he was on our side,¡± Elyan assured me. I just sighed and push my plate forward so I could prop my elbows on the table to rest my face over it. ¡°You sound stressed, my love.¡±


    I didn¡¯t know where to start so I just spoke to him. ¡°Does it not bother you I work in the place where you and I were held in captivity¡­?¡± He may smile, but his face drained of any red tones he naturally had. He glanced down at his dessert before he spoke, ¡°I¡­ won¡¯t lie when I say I am frightened by the very thought¡­ but at the same time this is a good thing.¡± I lifted my head confused as hell. ¡°Explain¡­¡± I muttered.


    ¡°As you are aware, I can hear everything but I cannot hear anything from that place¡­ I know it exists. You¡­. While it is a high risk, it is beneficial for both of us to learn to coexist with that department.¡± I couldn''t believe what he was saying. ¡°It¡¯s not just beneficial to us¡­ but to everyone around us that do not even realize how dangerous it is,¡± he added.


    ¡°And if I told you I do not want to work there anymore¡­?¡± I asked him. He didn''t even think. ¡°Then I will sleep at ease knowing you are not there.¡±


    That night as he slept soundly I looked for placed in a different state to live, It was going to be a big ass move, but I have been saving for a while now. I cut on food, water, candy, and other supplies for this to work. I won¡¯t lie, I fucking hated living there. Everyone did.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Next month I was ready to work in the deeper levels. I learned about the machines and protocols by heart. I the entirety of that month I never saw Darrell, I thought he never had the stomach to stay, but that particular day he showed up and he wasn¡¯t Darrell. He was emotionless, static, even his orange eyes were bleached white. ¡°Farnsworth, good morning,¡± I cringed. This was the result they promised me when I subjected myself to reprogram my emotions. I freaked out.


    ¡°Morning, Darrell--¡±


    ¡°Spyre.¡± He corrected me.


    He watched me the entire shift, I fucked up so much because of it. Every time I looked he was staring at me lifelessly. ¡°Can you cut that out?¡± I finally snapped at him. He just blinked and continued to work. I wanted to get home and just live somewhere not in Prism.


    I call Elyan using the phone of the base. ¡°Thank you for calling Big Saves¡¯ Mart! Margarette speaking, how may I be of assistance?¡± I heard the woman speak and all I could faintly hear Elyan laughing in the background. I felt horrible for making such a rash move. ¡°Can I speak to Elyan?¡±


    ¡°One moment,¡± she dropped her facade and aggressively yelled, ¡°Elyan! You got a phone call!!¡± I heard the voices get quiet and suddenly I hear a mess before someone else speaks. ¡°Yes? Elyan speak¡ª Josiah!¡± He shouted excitedly. ¡°I was just talking about you!¡±


    ¡°That¡­ is creepy. A-anyway. At what time you get out?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I get out at noon today.¡±


    ¡°Good. Pack everything and meet me at the bus stop at eight o¡¯clock tonight.¡±


    ¡°What? What happened, my love?¡±


    ¡°Just do as I say, please,¡± I urged him. ¡°I don¡¯t got much time I am supposed to be working¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll quit now so I can get everything ready.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡± I hanged up.


    Darrell walked in, ¡°Farnsworth, we have work to do.¡± God, he sounded so strange. So I had to follow him to the working level where we¡¯re needed.


    We saw how they ¡°care and nourish¡± for these hunters. It was abusive. Pure abuse. They were struck after unwanted behavior. Most of them had their voice removed through raw procedures and acted on pure instincts after breaking their souls.


    They forced us to watch them breed. There was a group of females drugged with MDMA, then they release a few males into the same room who were also drugged. If some were not fucking, they were deteriorating with the dose in their system, and if not, they were eating each other. It was a horror scene straight from hell.


    My job was to tend to the children and infants. My patient, was Marcello. I had to set him up on the stasis chamber and check his stats hourly.


    ¡°Beautiful is he not?" Sargent Cyanide said from behind. He startled me. I composed myself before I answered. ¡°I guess. I am not into monsters though.¡± Marcello was listening to me. I could tell with how he haunted me with his empty eyes. ¡°He technically is a god-like breed and altered to perfect our needs,¡± Cyanide said.


    ¡°God-like?¡± I asked. He kept using that word, and I was not sure if we were on the same page.


    ¡°We had several god descendants in our Prism base. One escaped during a rapture. Thanks to him, we perfected a drug to reproduce and even have a gene pool for future reference. To clone a body is far too basic for the things we are capable of.¡± He looked at me with a cold smile.


    ¡°Baby designing; can¡¯t say it''s an original thought¡­¡± I scoffed at the dumb idea.


    ¡°It''s not mere baby designing, if we can identify every single piece that makes the human body we can make thousands of gods to walk among us. I had to let the father of this specimen go because I was too involved with him. But that hasn''t stopped me from finding him for myself.¡± I looked at him with the corner of my eyes, I was feeling sicker thinking this shit head might have a sick kink.


    ¡°So, you claim to have god¡¯s in your super-jail?¡± I asked using air quotes. ¡°We had--¡± The dumbass tried to explain, but I just continued on my tangent. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you to be honest. There is no such thing as a god. And if there were I doubt it that you would have the technology to tame one.¡±


    ¡°We do--¡± I would not let him intimidate me. ¡°I suppose you won¡¯t just show me, huh? I expected as much from someone so ill handed.¡± I spoke with heavy confidence.


    ¡°On the contrary, Josiah.¡± He laughed and walked off down the hall. ¡°Follow me¡­¡± Something was yelling at me to do the opposite, but I needed answers.


    We arrived in the biggest archive I have ever seen. It was bookshelves as far as the eye could see, containing files and books and other data sharing media. ¡°So much for the age of technology¡­¡± I said nonchalantly. ¡°You have no idea how difficult it is to keep our information away from prying eyes. It is safer on pen and paper than digital. We had the horrible experience to be hacked by external sources and cause a horrible harm.¡±


    ¡°Hacked?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Not too long ago we had a massive blackout and power surges. Then after that we lost ninety percent of our data.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who it is?¡± I asked. I knew what he was talking about. ¡°If we did we wouldn¡¯t be having this discussion,¡± he answered. It pissed me off no one knew who that bastard was.


    ¡°Fair enough¡­¡± I followed him till he got several files in his arm and we sat down on a desk for him to show me the contents. ¡°Our first encounter with a god like being was in this very location. We call him ¡®The Devil¡¯.¡± The mug shots and stalked images presented a rugged man with gold hair and blue eyes. ¡°Where is he now?¡± I asked looking through the reports. ¡°He was under surveillance a while back but there are rumors he was in the area.¡± I opened another file and the mugshot and the stalker pictures were of a brunet and cocky cowboy. The lunar mark on his forehead was the same individual I encountered the day of the sky glutton. ¡°This one goes back to 1887,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, this one was hard to catch. But once we got him under our custody, we could successfully extract his DNA and experiment.¡±


    ¡°What makes him a god?¡± I asked. That was a serious term we needed to clear up.


    ¡°That word is subjective--¡± he tried to shade me with his bullshit and I was not up for anything especially when my boyfriend was on the line. ¡°So they are not gods...¡± Sargent Cyanide laughed at my comment. ¡°I see you are very skeptical¡­¡±


    ¡°Something like that¡­¡± I brushed him off.


    ¡°Look at his lab reports,¡± so I did. Subject M1: The subject had many superhuman talents, the most dominant was super hearing and his voice. They subjected him to many sound based experiments to understand why his hearing was more damaging than helpful. He has three sets of vocal cords according to the many biopsy reports. According to DNA analysis, he shares some of it with one of the documented subjects: Subject Zero.


    They put these subjects together in one room after depriving them of food, water and sleep. Subject Zero instantly bonded with Subject M1. Subject M1 fed Subject Zero with the little rations we provided. Then they put them in different rooms and blindfolded them, they could communicate and hear each other using a coded language. This subject protected Subject Zero like his own kin. They assumed they were lovers and were put in the same room again but they never mated. They only sang together. If an outsider stepped too close to them, they will protect each other using aggressive means. The images were fucked up, it is literally two people huddled up together in a corner of the room filled with dead dismembered bodies. They were locked down in soundproof rooms andforced to wear special masks and neck braces to prevent them from singing.


    They cloned subject M1.


    They raised subject M2 and taught to abuse and to torment anything near it. They exposed him to Subject Zero on various occasions and he beat Subject Zero and tried to eat him several times. They drugged Subject M1 with MDMA and locked him in the same room with female candidates and unlike Subject Zero he didn''t mate with anyone.


    ¡°Who is Subject Zero?¡± I asked for context. I was feeling sick to my stomach, and I knew Cyanide was enjoying this. He opened the next file and no matter how cool I played it I jumped back. The mug shots and stalked shots were of fucked up. I could barely see Elyan suffer as he slowly died in my hands, I couldn¡¯t stomach how small he actually was, how scared he looked, and how lifeless his eyes were in the photo as he forced a smile. I couldn¡¯t swallow the bile building up in my throat. The bastard was telling the truth. He was indeed taken from his parents, he was the idea for the hunters.


    I heard a click and the sounds of a child screaming overwhelmed my ears along with the screams of a man speaking his language, ¡°Elyan¡­!¡± was the only word I understood. The child was singing and crying, probably answering to the sound of his father. ¡°Shut him up!¡± someone said followed by a slap, then another, then a loud bang as if they threw him to a wall and suddenly the screams lowered to quiet whimpers. Cyanide chuckled deviously as he clicked the recorder to stop. ¡°Even his sounds of distress make a pretty song don¡¯t you think?¡± he whispered hotly against my ear.


    I drew a needed breath before composing myself. ¡°Did you subject your own kid to this fiasco?¡± I asked. ¡°No, that is the father of my kid.¡± My stomach dropped to the center of the Earth. Elyan told me it was possible for males to be pregnant but I really hoped he was just trying to be romantic. I pushed him off me and made a space between us. ¡°You raped a little boy?¡± I scowled at the freak.


    ¡°Don''t be silly. While he was fun to play with, I waited till he was mature enough to actually provide useful sperm,¡± he said with a creepy grin.


    ¡°That is impossible, you can¡¯t have a child without the participation of a female,¡± I was in denial.


    ¡°You can have a child with two sperms. And thanks to his donation we have a base to secure our future.¡± I couldn¡¯t stand there anymore. I walked away back the way we came. I had enough. ¡°You are seriously disturbed.¡± I stood still as he spoke. ¡°You seem to have no issue with the other subjects¡­ Why so defensive with this one?¡±


    I turned to the bastard and shouted, ¡°He was a baby! Are you fucking insane?! What the hell is wrong with all of you!? Why the hell do you put us through this!?¡±


    ¡°It gave us a lot of data. For example, Subject M1 can survive seventy-three days with an empty stomach before he finally felt the aches of his hunger. He can stay awake for almost one hundred hours before he hallucinates. He can survive falls and regenerate slowly. He is also immune to many poisons and drugs and has no sense of smell. Compared to us, this subject can survive the unthinkable. Sometimes we have to break things to find out what''s inside,¡± he said to me as he walked closer. ¡°We knew since you survive the rapture that you would do wonderful things. Not to mention the fact you did excellently during your reprogramming. You are so gifted you can survive without a pod.¡±


    Ice walked in with a neck brace with my Identification number on it. ¡°Where is he, Josiah¡­?¡± Cyanide asked. My heart stopped.

 Chapter_10://First_Law

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_10://First_Law


    <hr>


    It¡¯s moments such as these that my body just begs me to spark it, I was emotionally unstable and I was reaching a breaking point. I sneered at them, ¡°do you really think I will just tell you?¡± I snapped at her. ¡°Josiah, I bet every single soul on this facility that monster is a parasite,¡± Ice said. ¡°He isn''t a parasite¡­!¡± I called out. Elyan is many things, but that isn''t and will never be a trait.


    ¡°Yes he is, Josiah! You are so far up its fat ass you can''t even see it!!¡± Ice screamed at me. ¡°The choice of taking care of him is mine and mine alone! It is my problem!¡± I squawk back.


    ¡°Josiah! How much you want to bet that monster won''t come to save you?!¡± Ice shrieked at me. I wondered, what if he didn¡¯t? He was afraid of this hell but would be ever leave me behind?


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to, I am not a helpless bitch with disposable pawns!¡± I won¡¯t deny it that I have doubted he ever loved me, and in that moment I thought about certain things he did that made sense then. But even if she were right I wanted to die ignorant.


    ¡°Josiah! Open your eyes! It is using you! That beast is manipulating you!¡± That is true, he manipulates me to get what he wants, it¡¯s my fault I let him. ¡°That I will admit he does, but that son of a bitch loves me and I love him!¡± Then it hit me.


    ¡°You fucking blabbed on me!¡±


    ¡°I did! I did it for your safety! Josiah, please! You are not well!¡±


    ¡°Fuck you, you cunt! You did it for your own fucking sake! Selfish, entitled, and above all, a shallow thief! Fuck you!¡±


    ¡°Josiah! It eats people!¡± She held out a recording for me to see.Elyan is pretty creepy when he is silent but he is fucking scary when he is angry. I never seen him scowl so when he growled in this video it really freaked me out.


    Someone touched Elyan¡¯s neck, and I saw red.


    No, literally¡­


    I stood there wide eyed as my boyfriend threw his head back and revealed his ghastly mouth on his neck and ate the person whole. I took a step back at the initial shock.


    The tar around his neck burned and dissolved the skin and deteriorated the bone for the teeth in his throat could crunch without issue. Elyan slowly lowered his head and stared at his hands coated in blood and tar. He didn''t know where to crawl and hide.


    My boyfriend is fucking terrifying. Elyan reminds me of a fucking angler fish; he looks pretty and alluring and once he has you cornered he will eat you. To be honest that was pretty awesome. I remembered how much he fussed over the scar in his jaw, and how uneasy he was when I asked him about his unique trait. I bet he was scared of his ability too. But I guess I understand where the inspiration for hunters came from. ¡°Do you really think this monster won¡¯t do this to you!?¡± she asked me. While I did wondered if he would have but he never showed me signs of him wanting to eat me that way.


    ¡°Let it go, Ice.¡± the sergeant said. ¡°Josiah may have fallen for his tricks, but it doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t exploit Josiah for our gain,¡± he added with a soft grin. Ice didn¡¯t look too happy when the Sargent gave her an indirect order. I didn¡¯t like it either. Ice approached me with devil''s dog collar and I bitch slapped her. I then side swept her tumbling her to the ground and strapped the collar on her. I wasn''t going down without a fight and I wasn''t planning on letting her anywhere near me. I ran and took the stairs, you know shit hits the fan when you take the elevator.


    My mind raced with many things, the important one being the layout of the maze of a facility I was carelessly running around in. You know what really sucked? Elyan could have bust me out IF he could hear what was happening inside this hell hole. But I wasn¡¯t going to risk him either that''s what they would want. I don¡¯t understand why they needed him since they had so much to work with. He was a toddler when they took him, Elyan is now an adult, they had more than fifteen years worth of research.


    But just as I was halfway through the fucking facility, I got shot straight in my spine. My body immediately tingled with heat and cooled down. I ceased moving once I fell forward to the floor. I never passed out, I was completely immobile, and I was supposed to not feel anything. My nightmares were becoming a shit reality the moment I felt someone put the collar around my neck. ¡°Don''t pick fights you cannot win, Josiah.¡± I was turned over by Darrell. ¡°One of his disks ruptured,¡± he said. ¡°I doubt he will speak.¡± I couldn¡¯t, I just whined and growled like a fucking dog. ¡°Hm, we don''t need him to speak, get him inside a stasis chamber.¡±


    ¡°Sir, he is the only one who can locate Subject Zero,¡± Ice interjected.


    ¡°While that is true, I want to see how much this subject really ¡®loves¡¯ Josiah. In the meantime let''s see how well does this little soldier last under extreme hunter pressure.¡±


    ¡°S-sir, we can¡¯t do that. What if he dies?¡± Ice asked.


    ¡°Then we feed it to my kin.¡±


    ¡°W-wait! Sir! We can¡¯t just--¡± Ice suddenly shouted out of line, again.


    ¡°Is that insubordination?¡±


    ¡°I strongly advise we save Josiah, we can reprogram him! We can fix him up--¡± I was kind of hoping her pleas were heeded but of course since it¡¯s me we are talking about. ¡°It¡¯s either you, or Josiah, Lieutenant Rosette.¡± That was a heavy threat he told her. She stayed silent but her tension was felt in the hallway. ¡°You are a true hypocrite, Lieutenant Rosette, at least the parasite kept his word,¡± that hurt her in the pride, I¡¯m just sorry I wasn¡¯t the one who said it.


    I was dragged into a white chamber in the deepest part of Prism. Then they strapped me on a chair and forced me to listen to static while blindfolded. I know I was alone for probably two minutes but I was so stressed and scared it felt as if the hours melted into years.


    Someone put an intravenous therapy in my arm, I don''t know who, but I am pretty sure it was Darrell. Who else would help Ice and the fucking Sadist? It fucking burned and hurt like a bitch because it was replacing my fucking blood. "As expected, you have a high tolerance against liquid silver," Cyanide said. "Is it really necessary if you rot him from inside out?" Ice asked nervously. I was shivering and bleeding through my nose. It is one of many side effects of long exposure to liquid silver. They mimic the symptoms of aggressive radiation treatments for cancer; nausea, migraine, bone deterioration, damage to the nervous and immune system and death. I clenched my jaw so hard I cracked a canine. "I want to see how far I can push him."


    They freed one of my arms and a pair of small hands gently held mine. "Eat, Marcello." My fingers were inside a wet and warm cavity, I screamed like the little bitch I was when the cunt bit into my fingers and chewed off the knuckle. "Motherfucker!! Son of a bitch!" I screamed and threw up at the same time. "Pathetic," I growled and spat some of my stomach acid towards the sound of the voice. I heard a slight gasp. ".... Eat, Marcello." I find these people stupid, they are literally exposing themselves to mercury. They are not taking any measurements of security because of how clear their voices sound. They could be wearing a full plastic bag as we call it to protect themselves but they are just as fucked as me no matter how much you are ''immune'' to it.


    The bastard took another chunk of my hand, my lungs and my throat ached so much. My screams sounded so broken and pathetic I cringe every time I remember how much of a pussy I was. ¡°He really has endurance, Sargent Cyanide,¡± Ice stated the obvious. The Sargent ripped off my blindfold and couldn¡¯t see people I saw a swirl of shapes and colors. Cyanide grabbed a chunk of my hair before he sneered. ¡°Farnsworth is really something else, isn''t he?¡±


    ¡°B-bite me¡­¡± I strained to say, it took me a mother-fucking long time to push my body to just breathe so to spit in his face figuratively and literally meant a lot. He punched me and I screamed. He kept punching me and I kept screaming louder. ¡°S-sir!¡± Ice shouted but the Sergent just kept slapping me around. I got to the point I couldn¡¯t scream anymore because of how bad my nausea was. I just blacked in and out hoping I would die. I could also hear distant crows and voices from far away in the beyond.


    The Sargent finally fucking stopped, but he leaned in very close and said, ¡°we have such high hopes for you, Josiah. You have a strong core and it will never let your soul leave. Your vessel is better than anything we expected. Wait till you see what I have planned for you...¡± I found this all ironic. I was nothing, I was not even valued as food in the beginning, till Elyan gifted me a piece of him. This entire fucking plan they had for me was pathetic and laughable. Retarded even. They were never after Elyan, they were always after me. They never bothered to look into my home, for fucks sakes everyone knew. The moment they decided to strike me was when I decided to escape at the very last second and I wasn¡¯t smart about it. They were testing me. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I giggled. I fucking giggled. It hurt to giggle, but I did it, anyway. Now it sort of made sense why people just kept pushing me at my limit, more like, pissed me off more than they should.


    ¡°O-over¡­ mm-mah.¡± Finally I blacked out and the voices and crows were louder as if it all were inside my head.


    I woke up surrounded by empty black space. I turned to find¡­ something. It was cold and lonely. I do not know where I walked towards to, but I saw mermaids at the distance, One of them was so big I swore she could spin around the world. She sang sadly with the many small ones orbiting her massive soul.


    I was mind blown I could walk along the black sky and feel the firmness of the ¡®ground¡¯.


    I reached a library and there was that creepy monster writing in a book, he wasn''t alone, a very weird pale mermaid dragon girl was with him. She yelped and slithered her way towards me shedding tears along with her sweet daughters who also mourned over me. Like Elyan told me, she spoke like if in a musical, and in a language only god could understand. She tried to grab my hands, my face and my chest. I was weirded out by it but I forgot he mentioned she was blind.


    ¡°Andromeda, he doesn''t like to be touched! Personal space!¡± The monster said worried. Andromeda pulled her hands away quickly.


    ¡°No! It''s okay. I don''t mind it. She was trying to see me. I can''t deny that from her.¡± Andromeda slapped her hands on my face and pulled on my cheeks chirping happily. ¡°My wife is thrilled to meet you,¡± the monster said with a sad smile.


    ¡°Is she¡­? Why?¡± I asked as I picked up one of the mermaids.


    ¡°We all are, Josiah. We always wanted to meet you face to face, just¡­ not like this!¡± he suddenly said laughing. ¡°We thought you would hurt him, which is why we kept a close eye on you, but you are so patient and loving we were overjoyed to see him speak so well of you...¡±


    ¡°Is Elyan okay?¡± I asked, I was very worried about him. ¡°He is probably pissed, huh?¡±


    ¡°He is¡­ he doesn¡¯t know, I haven¡¯t told him yet¡± he said. ¡°He is waiting at the bus stop as we speak.¡±


    ¡°So, he is not even aware of what happened¡­?¡± I was confused but at the same time I was¡­ relieved? I guess the fact he was waiting for me still it made me happy.


    ¡°E-erhm¡­ N-no¡­¡± He looked conflicted, both he and Andromeda exchanged worried looks. ¡°....Good. Send me the fuck back,¡± I commanded.


    ¡°J-Josiah, while I do want to help I can¡¯t--¡±


    ¡°Either you send me back to my fucking body, or I will personally find a way back!¡± Crow laughed maniacally. ¡°Just the type of spunk I like from bright souls! Come with me, Josiah!¡± he shouted excitedly and spun on the spot creating a new space with the surrounding particles. Andromeda, and her daughters looked around themselves as the entire space became an open smith shop.


    Crow dipped many metals and gems into an oven. I watched him craft, what I assumed was a weapon, it didn''t even take him long enough till he finally completed a blue and black hammer. ¡°I call this masterpiece: First Law!¡± He lifted it and swung it with both his hands, we had to take a step back to avoid him from hitting us. It was a very weird hammer, the handle was made of glass like a tube filled with liquid and it had flakes of gems inside. There were sections where it had a solid grip with leather and metal so it wasn¡¯t impractical if I start to sweat. There was a joint where the hammer was, it moved and it helped you swing because of the gravity pushing and pulling the hammer down. It was a flat rectangle made of sapphires and framed with black titanium. A hammer to go with my pent up rage is a nifty idea.


    ¡°Elyan is a strong child, but he alone can¡¯t handle this fight. You, knowing what is at stake and you willingly jumped in to protect him. I will continue to aid you, all of us will.¡±


    ¡°That is fine and dandy and all, but answer me this,¡± I know Elyan is going to slap me but I need to know. ¡°If you have such power to make me a weapon like this, then how are you not fighting along with us?¡± Andromeda looked away in deep thought. Crow stared at me trying to find an answer. ¡°Because I must continue to wait for souls, just like yourself who need to be guided back.¡± That wasn''t vague at all. ¡°I am sorry we cannot aid you better but we will serve you any way possible!¡± he said with a wild grin.


    ¡°Please, protect my brother, Josiah¡­¡± I turned to Andromeda who smiled brightly after her song. ¡°I swore I would take care of him, that won¡¯t change,¡± I said to her. ¡°I am no god but I am not human either, I will manage.¡±


    ¡°Josiah, I must warn you.¡± I turned back to Crow. ¡°Your body is in terrible shape. You won¡¯t be able to fight back.¡± That was indeed true, but I had gotten out of any situation, this will be easy to walk out of. I smile warmly before I spoke, ¡°... watch me.¡±


    My eyes snapped open. I looked around as I slowly realized I was in a fucking pod for god knows how long. I saw Ice looking back at me from the other side of the glass. That smile that said she finally saved me. The entire room was at a disarray, the emergency black light blinked on and off and I could hear the staff fighting in the background. I looked down at my pale hands and then at the small reflection in the glass. My eyes lost their dark color and are now a faded silver. The pod analytical screen projected with many errors along with a familiar text.


    -->//:Greetings: Hello, again.


    -->//:Statement: I will aid you one final time.


    -->//:Command: Do us all a favor, go ham.


    -->//:Farewell: See you on the other side.


    Blood and tar was going through my IV, I felt sick but evidently I felt better. Way better. Looked up at Ice, who pressed her hands against the glass with a hopeful gleam. I wanted to break her face. I wanted to erase it. My back was aching so bad I reached my arms to scratch and yank at it till I gripped something very heavy. I grinned and swing the hammer to break the glass and smashed her face in. Her teeth made a sickening crack and shlick. I took a step out of the chamber and it drew me to a heavenly sound. Ice gurgling on her teeth and blood. I brought up the heavy ass hammer and dropped it down on fucking face, over, and over, and over, and over, till her face was nothing but neon glitter soup on the cracked and dented metal floor.


    ¡°My turn¡­¡± I chuckled. I raised the fucking thing over my weak shoulders and basically threw it at the first person I saw, Darrell breaking his knee with a sweet smash. I approached him and made him into a sweet pile of mush and blood.


    People were not that anymore, to my eyes they were all an assigned color, and it felt too satisfying to watch my hammer drop on every single one, the colors just explode and bounce off the walls almost matching a sweet chime and glimmer like fluorescent paint. My adrenaline was pumping like if I was jacked up on MDMA, or cocaine, or like that strange music Elyan listened to on the radio.


    I was so happy and angry at the same time I laughed maniacally with every swing of my judgement. Every single staff member, patient, innocent was a target till I reached the surface with sunlight. I felt exhilarated, amused, overjoyed, free. Watching the static on the screens with the holographic error pages with the text UNKNOWN over them, the electricity dancing over broken tech surfaces, and the lifeless pancakes on the ground. One pod caught fire after I smashed it, many things did after I slammed them so hard the heat of impact was flammable enough to ignited into a more acceptable scene of hell.


    For every time Elayn shed a tear I broke more equipment. Every time, I remember how sick he was and how badly he hurt over my actions I smashed a wall or a person. For every giggle of despair he muttered to himself I threw my hammerinto the air breaking any single camera watching my chaotic mess. I dedicated every single slam to Elyan. I guess you can say the proverbial rubber band in my mind finally snapped.


    As my rage subsided, I was more aware of what I needed to do, which was escape. So I ignored the hunters escaping, the employees screaming and fighting off the hunters.


    Now what stood in my way, was the red head hunter with wide purple eyes, eating away at the body of his master and father. What a way to die, huh? I have to say, I wanted to kill him myself, but it was a spiritual ending, don¡¯t you think so?


    I was morally tensed at what I needed do. While they forced him into this, he technically didn¡¯t have the fault, but I knew he will never grow up to be happy with all he is. So, I smashed him to death with the hammer. His colors were different, he didn¡¯t have any. That body was just a hollow shell, it was the next shell if they ever caught Elyan.


    I walked out calmly and exhausted, dragging the hammer along. I placed it back onto my back and my skin slowly absorbed it. I somehow felt a better stability. Funny, I broke my spine, and I got a hammer to replace it¡­


    You got this far¡­ Don¡¯t ask questions. I stopped asking them at some point, too.


    I was now covered in filth all the way to the bus stop where Elyan waited for me. He was still there, with several suitcases underneath the seat. I checked the clock, and it was after eleven and he was listening to music as he slept. He had absolutely no idea I was in deep shit but he was waiting for me still. Stupid asshole.


    I approached him to caress his soft face. He looked peaceful and happy. My lips tugged slightly into a small grin. I leaned in gently pressing my lips onto his. His eyes flutter open into panic then into shock. He broke the kiss, ¡°Josiah! W-where have you been--¡± his eyes darted at my sullied skin and transparent robes telling him a gruesome tale of gore and insanity. ¡°Josiah! My love!¡± he cupped my face between his shaky hands. ¡°What on the devil happened to you!?¡± This was a literal reversal scene, I cracked a tiny smile and chuckled. ¡°I fought to survive¡­¡± I answered. I leaned in for another needed and heated kiss before speaking. ¡°Let¡¯s go home¡­¡±


    ¡°M-my love, where?¡± As he sat there in a confused and heated daze the final bus of the night arrived and opened the door for us. I stood up and grabbed some of our bags and waited for Elyan to follow me inside the bus. The driver was mildly freaked out over my bloody attire but he forgot about it once I over payed. We walked back to take the most comfortable seats of the vehicle.


    ¡°Josiah..?¡± Elyan whispered to me as the bus took off. ¡°I-I¡­¡±


    ¡°Andromeda is really beautiful¡­¡± I interrupted him. His eyes widened with tears threatening to spill. I nuzzled underneath his jaw, literally where his second mouth would be. ¡°But Your quirks are what I find endearing about you¡­¡± I traced my lips over his scar pressing light kisses. ¡°J-Josiah¡­!¡± He was flustered over my advances. ¡°I won¡¯t lie¡­ I died a while ago and I am fucking tired¡­ Wake me up in the next bus stop¡­¡± I said before shutting my eyes. Elyan held me close and nodded, ¡°O-of course, my prince¡­¡±


    ¡°Elyan¡­¡± I called to him before I drifted. ¡°Yes, Josiah¡­?¡±


    ¡°I love you, even if you eat people¡­¡± He tensed up and his body shook lightly before he pressed his face into my hair and muffled, ¡°I love you, too, Josiah.¡± He giggled softly and I could feel his tears soaking the back of my head. He must have felt so guilty for what he said and didn¡¯t do, I understand him better than anyone since I was in shoes once.


    This isn''t the last we will see of Prism. Prism has sub bases all over the world and out in the Sun¡¯s orbit, but I was ready for them, we both were. Then my eyes widen up realizing I was a walking hazard. ¡°Elyan¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­?¡± he answered with an innocent smile.


    ¡°Are you by any chance weak to liquid silver¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°My mother used to bathe in it, why do you ask¡­?¡± I took that as a no. ¡°... Never mind.¡±

 Chapter 11://Hysteria

    <hr>


    Prince?fMadness


    <em style="font-size: 3em">Chapter_11://Hysteria


    <hr>


    ¡°Crow gifted you a weapon!?¡± Elyan stared at me in absolute awe when I told him. I nodded and stared at the ground thinking about what had happened back in Prism and it is still surreal to me. ¡°Oh, Josiah! This is marvellous!¡± My boyfriend spun around excitedly and grabbed both my hands. ¡°How does it work?! What does it look like!?¡± I honestly haven¡¯t seen him this excited before so it really unnerved me. ¡°It¡¯s a hammer¡­ And I have no clue how it works¡­¡±


    ¡°What is it called?¡± He sat with me on the bed, barely containing his curiosity. ¡°I think it is called First Law¡­¡± I answered.


    ¡°. . .An object at rest remains at rest, or if in motion, remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by external forces. . . What an interesting name for a weapon,¡± Elyan said, laying back on the mattress piecing together what it looked like. ¡°Why are you so excited I got such a brutal weapon?¡±


    ¡°Whatever do you mean, my love? he laid sideways, holding his head over his propped elbow. ¡°Any weapon is brutal if it is intended to kill,¡± he is absolutely correct, but it doesn¡¯t mean it is less intimidating. ¡°I guess you are right¡­¡± I laid back with him, gazing up at the dirty ceiling remembering what happened to me. Every time I thought about it, my body ached and the pain was unbearable, specifically my back.


    ¡°I guess this is all a big leap for me, for both of us,¡± I spoke up. ¡°I never dreamed about leaving Prism, let alone destroy the base.¡±


    ¡°I am more than impress you did such a thing. Not that I never had faith in you, I just didn¡¯t think that would be a possibility. I can say I am proud my heart chose you.¡±


    ¡°Do you prefer males or females?¡± I had to ask him. ¡°I am into women, however my heart chose you,¡± he explained with a fond smile and leaned in to kiss my cheek. What I love is your life; I fall deeper in love every time you sing to me.¡±


    ¡°Have you slept with women before?¡±


    ¡°I had sex with many women, yes.¡± It is really surprising to hear him say that. ¡°I have had orgies before, So I am more than experienced in that dance.¡± I know Elyan is an image of the ideal beauty women want in a male but it is hard to believe he had fucked women. I am far from feminine and I have a dick.


    ¡°What about males?¡± I asked. If we ever reach that point then I needed to know in advanced what he felt about it, and something about me asking him changed his body language negatively. He avoided my gaze and chuckled anxiously.


    ¡°Yes, I had sex with men. Not as many, but I did. It was messy. I must confess sleeping with men has its disadvantages.¡±


    ¡°H-huh?¡±


    ¡°Penetration is a dirty task or even the lack of an erect penis was also an issue. Most of the time, when I had intimacy with someone, I never really felt anything. Most of the time the pain was unbearable, and even the scent and taste was ghastly.¡±


    ¡°You mean they fucked you while you weren''t in the mood?¡±


    ¡°I guess that is one way to phrase it. It is hard to have this dance when you really didn¡¯t like it,¡± he said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Then, you rather not have sex with males?¡±


    ¡°Correct. But I will, however, make love to you, Florehm. Spectusan Limb yhna¡­¡± he sang as he pressed many kisses on my neck and chest.


    ¡°Wait, a minute!¡± I shouted, and he stopped. ¡°What is the difference between me and other men?¡±


    ¡°I love you, Josiah. That is the reason why I am willing try new things with you. It makes this life a lot more exciting.¡±


    ¡°All because you love me?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it is the same with you, right¡­?¡± he asked with a flush covering his face and neck. ¡°You did a sacred ritual; you gave your everything as an offering to me¡­¡± He gripped my ringed hand and pressed a kiss on it. ¡°No one has done that for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait a second, you mean the ritual to bring you back--?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is a ritual where a virgin spouse is offered to a ruling god, it is sort of wedding.¡±


    ¡°Are yousaying--¡±


    ¡°Correct. We are wedded.¡± I was mind blown, and I didn¡¯t see it till he points it out. The virgin, the ring, sibling blessings, the priest and the vows. I scowled so hard my left eye twitches uncontrollably. ¡°You weren¡¯t really dead, you butt hole?!¡±


    ¡°I-I¡­ I was. I just¡­ left my body and ascended into the sky.¡± Something about how he said that made me uneasy. Then again the whole arrangement was weird.


    ¡°Did you planned your final moments¡­?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t necessarily say I planned it all¡­ I did wanted to make soup, but the stars were not on my side.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you refuse to use the pod¡­?¡±


    ¡°... Because I was afraid I would wonder in my own nightmare forever. Thankfully¡­ I was already in the sky when you put me in.¡±


    "What''s it like...? Being dead, I mean."


    "Hell; Despite how light as air and weightless you are, none of your worries lift. You are at a constant struggle and eternal regret. . ."


    ¡°...Did you ever think about me¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Every single second, my eternal regret was leaving you behind...¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that romantic and all but I still have a question¡­¡±


    ¡°By all means, my love. Go for it.¡± Elyan pulled me close and kissed the back of my head. ¡°There is nothing I enjoy more than our endless conversations¡­¡± I lean back to his touch and bask in his warmth. ¡°You said back then you believe in male pregnancies...¡± I asked.


    ¡°I do, and I am always open to have a child of our own¡­¡± His hands slowly creeped down and reached inside my shirt making skin on skin contact. I tried bonding with him without the use of chemical reactions. As much as I wanted to smoke one at the moment I needed to do this more naturally even if I was sort of uncomfortable at the time.


    ¡°To be honest¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°I have thought about it, but there are some things I need to figure out. Like starting an appropriate life in Oregon like we initially planned. I barely understand the hammer, I doubt I am anywhere near for children.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s figure it out together,¡± Elyan suggested. ¡°Just in time.¡± He pushed me aside and walked over the window. ¡°I hear a monster.¡± Outside stood a man slowly transforming into a monster. It was pretty frightening to consider it was once human, and that Elyan was able to hear it. ¡°So¡­ this is my target practice¡­?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Elyan sat down on the window sill with his ring in the ready. ¡°You better work fast, my love, these hunters tend to grow as they eat.¡±


    ¡°You are not going to help me?¡± I looked at the little asshole, and with that shit-eating grin, he said, ¡°welcome to my league.¡±


    I jumped out the window, drawing the monster¡¯s attention to me. I reached over my back but a new problem arose, I didn¡¯t exactly know how to summon my weapon. ¡°E-Elyan?¡± I stepped away from the monster. Elyan just unwrapped a lollipop, ignoring me. ¡°Elyan! For fucks sakes! I need help!¡± I turned back to see he wasn''t sitting on the window sill anymore. I was steaming.


    ¡°Elyan! I swear to god if you keep ignoring me I will beat you up personally!¡± His head popped through the side of the window with a playful smirk. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try¡­¡± He sucked on the pop and left again. My back and teeth ached as my anger boiled through my core. I reached for my back and felt the handle again and swong it violently forward almost falling face first with the force. I turned again towards the monster but it was gone. ¡°Where the hell did it go?¡±


    ¡°Be careful, my love.¡± I looked up towards Elyan sitting on the roof of the motel with his legs crossed. ¡°He sounds really hungry¡­¡± he adviced with a tone full of mockery.


    ¡°Why you little--!¡± I was tackled down by the monster and it tried to bite me. I struggled to get it off me and what pissed me off was that my boyfriend was laughing at me. ¡°Do you really have to be an asshole while I am possibly eaten by a monster?!¡± I was holding its slimy jaws with my diamond hard hands. Its breath was terrible, it was like smelling a dead skunk. It whispered to me, ¡°He is a monster, Josiah¡­¡± I was mildly confused, I know what I heard, and it didn¡¯t sit right with me.


    ¡°God Fucking DAMMIT!¡± I kicked it off me and I rolled back to get my hammer. ¡°Sorry, pal, but I got worlds to crush.¡± With a mighty grip and heavy swing I crushed the head of the monster. I have to be honest, the splatter it made was satisfying. I felt a rush through my veins. I let go of the hammer and took several steps away from it. ¡°What the hell was that¡­?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°A soul is grateful of your mercy. Did you feel it course though your body as it ascended to heaven?¡± Elyan said as he stared up at the sky with a serene smile. ¡°What the hell¡ª Elyan,¡± I begged for an explanation. He gazed down at me and spoke, ¡°you are a like me, Josiah.¡± The light wind carried his locks of fire as the Sun bounced from his pearly whites. ¡°Now, we both share a responsibility, a mutual one.¡±


    Elyan, this is too frightening to be a godlike power¡­ I have to be angry to trigger my weapon.¡±


    ¡°It is your best weapon, my love.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess¡­ With great power comes great responsibility?¡± I remarked.


    ¡°Not at all. With great power you may overcome the odyssey.¡± Elyan offered me a smile and landed beside me.


    ¡°Welcome to our league, Josiah.¡± At that moment I understood what the definition of God was¡ª power of judgement among the miniscule and broken. When I lost a few marbles in Prism I didn¡¯t feel remorse of what I did but at that moment I was afraid of how far I could take this hammer in the name of ¡°justice¡±.


    ¡°...Wait Elyan, it spoked to me..."


    "It did? I didn''t hear it, what did it say?"


    "It said, "he is a monster, Josiah." Do you think Prism is still alive?¡± I asked Elyan. He seemed troubled enough to think about the possibilities. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± he answered. "But I doubt they are that persistent after the genocide..." he added. It was rather confusing and creepy that Elyan couldn''t hear it. After that ordeal, I became paranoid.


    I would stare at people for long periods till I could no longer see them. I thought it was just me being precautious, but it was ominous. I wanted to kill people because I was afraid of being inside Prism again. Anyone could be a soldier or an agent of Prism. Anyone...


    That night, Elyan was sound asleep, and I was up watching a mess of static for god knows how long. From that, I heard voices: ¡°Where is he, Josiah¡­?¡± My stomach sunk to the center of the Earth. I grabbed my hammer and smashed the television set till it was electric dust.


    ¡°J-Josiah!¡± Elyan shouted and held my shoulders to calm me down. ¡°Josiah!¡± he shouted again to draw my attention. I was delusional and scared beyond death. ¡°Josiah, what happened?¡± he asked me. I look at the pulverized television and loosened my grip on my hammer. ¡°They are coming for us¡­¡± I answered with a shivering breath.


    Elyan¡¯s mighty grip and sweet voice grounded me. ¡°I won¡¯t allow that, Josiah. I promise it will never happen again.¡± He dragged me back to bed and laid me between his legs and swung for me.


    Then, our neighbors burst into the room next to ours. They were very loud and aggressive, it was a man beating a woman. Her body hitting a solid surface was gruesomely loud and her screams were unnerving. Elyan and I stared at the wall. ¡°Wait here¡­¡± he said to me quietly, but I grabbed his wrist and held my finger against my chapped lips. ¡°Stay still¡­¡± I mouthed.


    I slowly guided him to the bathroom and closed the door in a stealthy motion and sat there quietly waiting. The door to our room burst open, it sounded like the savage from earlier ransacking the room screaming nonsense. "Where is he, Josiah! Where is he?!¡± He fired several rounds. I was reckless. ¡°Josiah! No!¡± I bashed his brain with my hammer till it was gone. ¡°I won¡¯t let anyone touch you¡­¡± I uttered.


    ¡°J-Josiah¡­!¡± Elyan¡¯s wide green eyes watched my clean hammer sink into my tense skin somewhat fearful. He didn¡¯t know what to do then except skip the next motel.


    A week later, he took me out to eat at a diner. The waitress was watching me too closely. Everyone in the diner was staring. I felt judged, each and everyone of them had something to tell me when I made eye contact. ¡°He will eat you alive.¡±


    ¡°There is no such thing as a god, only the devil.¡±


    ¡°Your hands are covered in blood.¡±


    ¡°You are lost¡­¡±


    ¡°We can save you, just let us help you¡­¡±


    ¡°One big paella and the biggest malt you got,¡± Elyan giggled. Now, it sounds appetizing, but then I wasn¡¯t particularly hungry. I had heartburn and constipation topping over my sleep deprivation. ¡°Josiah, we need to talk--¡± he began after an awkward silence, but I interrupted him ¡°...Sinclair.¡± That was my name at the time, I was too anxious to use our real names in public or even in the privacy of our motel.


    I glanced to my left when I heard screaming, a woman wasraped violently over the counter. The man next to her poured maple syrup and at her raw.


    ¡°I need to know what happened the other night. You are clearly not well,¡± when he spoke, the hallucination vanished.


    ¡°I did what I had to¡­¡± I explained as a shiver went down my spinal implant.


    ¡°Sinclair, breaking our bed was an act of paranoia, if this continues we will run out of money,¡± he said sternly. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked defensively.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been yourself. Can you talk to me and tell me what is troubling you?¡± Elyan placed a warm hand over my cold and jittery ones gripping them tightly.


    ¡°You and I both know we were assaulted that night¡­¡± I explained.


    ¡°N-No,¡± Elyan muttered nervously. ¡°You are clearly seeing and hearing things that do not exist.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what I heard.He was talking, but the walls were closing in on me. I couldn¡¯t hear him well because of the overwhelming heat. ¡°I need to use the restroom,¡± and left the table.


    He was right, I wasn¡¯t well and it was eating me. I was very nauseous and suffered an acute migraine. I almost passed out on the toilet bowl filled with my bile if not for Elyan supporting me with gentle gestures.


    ¡°My love,¡± he called to me. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay¡­¡± he assured me and nuzzled his face on my back.


    I wasn¡¯t comfortable anywhere I stood, and because my anxiety was slowly destroying my health, we had no choice but to stay there. Since it pissed me off, my hammer was causing acute contraptions.


    I kept hearing voices and numbers growing louder as the hours of the night slipped by. Nothing was working, not even Elyan¡¯s voice could cast away my nightmares. I could always hear the voices the loudest from radios or televisions.


    I stood up and turned the television away from the bed. Turning over to lay back down, I saw Marcello and nearly shat myself. He was just a miserable as he was in Prism. ¡°You gave up everything for a monster¡­¡± I heard Ice speak. I could see her through the mirror. ¡°You became one the moment you gave your soul to him. Look at what you did to all of us¡­¡± Inside that mirror was a scene of blood and gore straight from the horror genre. ¡°I am not a monster! And neither is he!¡± I argued.


    ¡°You destroyed us, Josiah. Live with the consequences¡­¡± I punched the mirror. I never wanted to see her again. She literally invaded my mind with her agenda. I needed to prove her wrong, Elyan was a great person.


    That¡¯s when I realized Elyan wasn¡¯t in the motel with me. I freaked out. I ran all over the room looking for him, then I sprint all over the street looking for someone I thought was taken by public enemy number one. I hyperventilated and cut the base of my feet with the jagged textures of the disgusting street.


    I was wrong. Elyan was sitting in the same diner, speaking with another man. And they way they spoke to each other caused my blood to boil, and my vertebrate to vibrated.


    I honestly thought he was two-timing me. Even their body language looked the part. The stranger had a flirtatious attitude and Elyan¡¯s face matched his red hair. God, it pissed me off to no end. The other man gave Elyan a few things from his coat pockets: a jar of clear liquid, a bag of herbs, sugar packets and a piece of paper. Elyan stored them in his pocket.


    The man looked up at me as I stood in front of the table with anything but a happy grin. ¡°He escaped the pod,¡± he commented. Elyan turned his head to me shocked. ¡°J- S-Sinclair--¡±


    ¡°Cut the bull shit¡­¡± I growled at him. ¡°Who the fuck are you talking to?¡± I was very aggressive with Elyan when I clearly walked in on them out of context.


    ¡°My love--¡± I cut him off again. ¡°You left the motel. Are you out of your mind?¡±


    ¡°Please, listen--¡± He stood up from the table which I smashed with First Law. ¡°Josiah!¡± Elyan was outraged, so was everyone in the diner. ¡°You go anywhere near him again and you will lose all of your teeth,¡± I threatened the stranger.


    His composure hadn¡¯t cracked since I walked in. ¡°Josiah, he is a bloodthirsty monster,¡± he said cooly with a mocking grin.


    I grit my teeth and swing my hammer at him, and again, and again, and again, but he was much faster than I¡¯ll ever be.


    ¡°Josiah!¡± Elyan kept shouting but I refuse to listen. ¡°He will eat you alive when you least expect it¡­¡± the stranger sneered.


    ¡°He isn''t a monster!¡± I shouted. The stranger looked at me morbidly confused. ¡°I will rip you apart if you touch him again!!--¡±


    ¡°Josiah! Stop it!!¡± That scream Elyan produced hurt my ears badly enough to give me mild headache and nausea. As I recovered from the soundwave, I watched the stranger and his multiples become one again. A gust of wind blew his back his black wavy hair revealing a lunar birthmark on his forehead. I dropped my hammer and breathed, ¡°Subject M1¡­¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± M1 said with a confused look.


    ¡°Josiah Farnsworth!¡± Elyan was seriously pissed. ¡°Have you completely lost your fucking mind?!¡± My jaw went slant and my eyes blew wide. Elyan NEVER insulted anyone. Not even me and half the time I actually deserve it. ¡°How can you be so destructive?! You are disrespecting your weapon and responsibility!!¡± He took a breath and continued. ¡°I am very disappointed in you, Josiah!¡± As Elyan schold me, I could hear M1 holding back a fit of laughter behind his manicured hands.


    ¡°E-Elyan¡­¡± I was at a loss for words. I panicked to make it better and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Your temper is out of control, Josiah. You are not what I hoped to be in the slightest.¡± He said that so sternly and so out of character, the little bolts I had left in my head broke and exploded. In that moment I blacked out.


    ¡°Josiah¡­¡± Elyan called to me, breaking through my comatose. ¡°My love, are you in pain?¡± He looked down at me concerned. I could smell a toxic level of marijuana, I was too high to figure out my predicament.


    I couldn¡¯t speak at all. I just breathed and it felt really nice. I felt numb and vulnerable, like a weight lifted from my shoulders.


    ¡°W-why doesn¡¯t he speak¡­?¡± Elyan questioned.


    ¡°With the amount of orange water and weed I put in him I am surprised he isn''t still asleep,¡± answered another voice. I wasn¡¯t sure where it came from but I wasn¡¯t afraid of it.


    ¡°Will he be okay?¡± Elyan asked looking towards the door, assumingly where the other man was standing.


    ¡°Yeah. He is hysterical.¡± Correct. Everything that happened to me led up to this. My reprogramming was flawed from the word go and it just added to my fucking life.


    ¡°Is it not the condition they diagnosed to women...?¡± Elyan of course was confused.


    ¡°And men can have it too. Josiah fits this description of Hysteria. It is uncommon for men because women tend to be more emotional. However, having someone repressed so hard could take a toll on him.¡±


    ¡°W-will he be alright¡­?¡± he looked down at me apologetically as he asked.


    ¡°There are many ways to treat him. In my non professional opinion, he can live a prolonged life as long as he medicates and finds healthy ways to express his building Hysteria. You told me he has experience with the herb?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He had anxiety and depression which he treated with cannabis,¡± after this mental break down, I can safely trust Elyan to speak for me in any medical emergency or anything.


    ¡°Great. I recommend he takes one or two puffs a day. I gave you a month supply and other stuff he can try so he can have alternatives of healing.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you so much for taking care of Josiah. I feel horrible as a spouse for not trying hard enough¡­¡± It shattered my heart to see him so down and anxious. ¡°I feel so guilty¡­ I feel like this is entirely my fault for being so careless of him.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t cause this, Elyan. I am sure he agrees with me.¡± He is correct. I lifted my gelatine-like body and tucked my head underneath his chin. Elyan was flustered at my advances and didn¡¯t reciprocate the hug I tried to give him. ¡°J-Josiah¡­.!¡± He squirmed, but I held him firmly. ¡°W-we have a guest present!¡± he giggled nervously.


    ¡°Had, I have to go for now. Remember what I told you.¡± The stranger left us to our privacy. That man is really odd, but he is also merciful and kind despite how stupid I acted. both Elyan and I are forever grateful of what he did for us.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ for staying with me,¡± I breathed softly against his neck. Taking in the nebula aura he was born with. ¡°There is no need to thank me, my prince of madness,¡± he chuckled softly and laid us both on the bed. ¡°It is my pleasure to serve my world, Florehm, Sadvme iulmah.¡± I wormed myself off his grip and tangled myself between his legs. Look, man, some people spoon each other, I just really like to melt on his soft and thick legs. He didn¡¯t mind it, and if he did, we were going to have problems.

 Chapter 12://Human

    Prince ?f Madness


    Chapter_12://Human


    <hr>


    Once we got to Oregon, Elyan was more than happy with how beautiful the city is. What he loved the most was the view of the ocean. He dropped his duffle bag and ran up the hill to see the rush of the waves. I sigh and follow him.


    ¡°Josiah!¡± He turned towards me with a bright grin. ¡°Let''s camp here!¡± We ran out of motel funds and camped out till we made enough to rent out a flat, to then own a house. In the meantime, we are camping out in the wilderness. This lifestyle is soothing for the both of us, Elyan is free to kick of his shoes feel the textures underneath. And for me, while it was very difference from my old life it wasn¡¯t as stressful as I feared it would be. I set down the bags and sit on the bench where he admired the waves and smelled the saline. ¡°We can sneak in the lighthouse if it rains,¡± I said.


    ¡°In deed!¡± Elyan giggled and sat beside me.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Elyan.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Why do you enjoy the ocean so much?¡± I asked. He took my hand and leaned his head over my shoulder. ¡°The best moments of my childhood happened there,¡± he said. ¡°Mother birthed me in a body of water and my father washed me in the natural basin, it was also where I played and bathed with my sister Andromeda. And¡­ where I met my first love.¡± Elyan said with a sappy grin on his face. ¡°Not to mention, we met our nieces there¡­ Where we first kissed¡­¡±


    ¡°Who was your first love?¡±


    ¡°She was a wayward fire dragon with no name. They stripped her wings from her back, and her arms as well due to the war. I fell in love with her but she did not feel the same for me.¡±


    ¡°Was she the one who taught you to breathe fire?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she was¡­ After her death it devastated me¡­¡±


    ¡°How did she die?¡±


    ¡°...My-...grandfather slew her.¡±


    ¡°What the hell, why?¡± Elyan was hesitating. His entire body tensed at the question and his hand squeezed mine a little too hard. I let it drop since he refused to answer. When I glanced at him, his eyes were closed and Elyan wasn¡¯t smiling anymore. I felt bad I touched a delicate subject, I didn''t know how delicate it was¡­


    ¡°I rather not speak about the details¡­¡± Elyan pleaded. I retract my hand from his mighty grip and held him close. ¡°Do you want to set up camp?¡± He didn¡¯t speak, he nodded and kept that stern face.


    ¡°Elyan¡­¡± He hummed in response. ¡°If you need to speak and let out some steam, my ears are always open, but only if you feel comfortable about it.¡±


    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± Elyan whispered.


    ¡°Yeah, shoot.¡± He stared at the waves crash on the rocks on shore, putting together his words before saying them. ¡°Are you afraid of me?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I looked at him curiously. ¡°Because¡­ Because you know what makes me unique.¡± Elyan placed a hand under his jaw and gripped it tightly. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why your hysteria triggered¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°The doctor said it could have been because of extreme stress and fear¡­¡±


    ¡°...Oh. About that...¡± I caught on. ¡°... To be honest, yeah it''s fucking scary, but you always had an appetite,¡± I joked.


    ¡°Josiah¡­¡± he breathed and pulled himself up from the bench. He didn''t take it too well.


    ¡°Elyan¡­¡± I sighed in frustration and threw my head back on the bench. ¡°I can understand why you kept it from me and for obvious reasons I know why you sealed it, whether you told me or not it won''t change anything. Honestly that was the last thing on my mind¡­¡± I explained. ¡°When I saw the video of how you reacted I know why you did so, under extreme fear you acted on survival instincts.¡± I craned my head towards him. ¡°But that didn''t stay in my mind. What did bother me was how little you were and how they took advantage of you.¡± Elyan turned to me with a surprised look on his face. ¡°Your second mouth is the least of my worries¡­¡± I added.


    ¡°And if I become a monster, what would you do?¡± That was a heavy question charged with urgency. ¡°I find it difficult for you to become one, you are the type to think of people before you. A monster forgets their morals and are selfish¡­ You are not selfish, you are sweet and kind and back in Prism you were a hero to many and I admire you for many things that I could go on an endless list mentioning a few¡­¡±


    ¡°...What have I done to deserve you?¡± he asked with a sheepish smile.


    ¡°The stars aligned for us, I guess¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a romantic tongue to grace my heart¡­¡± my husband teased.


    ¡°Then shut up!¡±


    Elyan giggled and sat beside me. I sighed when the thought crossed my mind. ¡°Well, we need to get a job to start our life¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go and search,¡± Elyan said.


    A week in, we found an ad in a hotel where they needed various staff members. We decided to go for it since we could work together, or they could hire at least one of us.


    We dressed semi formal to give a great impression, Elyan was the center of the attention. I bet it was because of his slick back red hair. ¡°The woman at the front desk smiled brightly with another woman beside her. ¡°Welcome to Hotel Lett, do you have a reservation?¡±


    ¡°We came to apply for the job,¡± I said.


    ¡°Oh! Perfect.¡± The blond woman chimed. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    We sat there in the office with the Hotel manager, Lizzy Clementine, who asked us general questions.


    ¡°Have you had any experience in the service industry?¡±


    ¡°I have. I worked in a supermarket for several months before moving cross the country,¡± Elyan answered.


    ¡°And I worked in a hospital for six years. I am not sure if that is what you mean, but I thought you should know.¡± I said.


    ¡°Do you have any experience with cleaning, laundry or even cooking? You are men and I know you had a lady do it all for you in your life.¡± That was rather sexist, no surprise considering what decade it was.


    ¡°We both have a ton of experience, him most of all,¡± I said. ¡°We served the military thus training us for any sort of situation, including domestic work.¡± I kind of lied. It would be weird if two men were living together for no reason. Fagots were not taken lightly in that time. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Military?¡± Her interest peaked. ¡°You are both from the military? Which one?¡±


    ¡°We served Prism, Not too long ago the base in Jupiter suffered a catastrophic attack that forced us to move.¡±


    ¡°Oh dear¡­ I heard the attack on the radio. That must have been horrifying.¡±


    ¡°It was, but thanks to our military training, we survived,¡± Elyan said as he handed our ¡®old military profiles¡¯ to the manager. (Forging documents is easier than it sounds.) She read through them, making humming sounds of curiosity and approval. ¡°I must say, I never expected two military men to walk in my hotel. I have two job openings for both of you. Do you have a driver''s license and a voided check at the moment?¡±


    ¡°It is all in the file,¡± we said at the same time. The bank accounts and licenses were forged too.


    ¡°All right! Before I assign your uniform and job, I must inform the hotel policy. We provide complimentary meals to our employees during their break hours. We also provide specific uniforms to go with our hotel colors. We just ask that you do your job, you will keep a clean shaved beard, short kept hair, no visible tattoos or piercings, and will ingest any illegal substances in the premises,¡± she said. ¡°Fuck,¡± we thought at the same time. ¡°You will start tomorrow morning with training week.¡± She stood over and shook our hands. ¡°I am happy to know we have military men in the building. Lately, we have been seeing monsters, while it doesn¡¯t scare off the guest, the monsters like to eat them and my employees. I hope you will do great both inside the building and outside.¡± The atmosphere was heavy at the mention of monsters. Elyan and I haven¡¯t seen or sense them so it was rather strange to say.


    ¡°Have they been inside the hotel?¡± Elyan asked softly.


    ¡°Thankfully, no. But we can¡¯t be too careful. Gentlemen, I must assign you your roles, you will arrive tomorrow morning at six-thirty to retrieve the keys to your room where your uniforms will be waiting. Mr. Starr, you will work in housekeeping as a room and laundry attendant. Housekeeping usually rotate in roles and cover the laundry, room inspector, runner, room service, and of course, room attendant. I fear I only have one uniform that will probably fit you.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t mind.¡± Elyan smiled warmly.


    ¡°Mr. Farnsworth, you will be in the kitchen as a steward. Your job is fairly simple, you will clean the dishes, make sure our buffet has enough plates, food and silverware, and follow chef instructions. We have two buffet hours, one in the morning and one in the evening.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± I said with a blank expression.


    ¡°One last thing, Elyan is that your natural hair color?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes, It is my hair color.¡±


    ¡°Wow! Your parents must have a lovely color too!¡±


    ¡°T-they don''t¡­¡± Elyan chuckled nervously.


    ¡°Oh, I see. Well, I ask because I can''t accept employees dying their hair into unacceptable colors.¡±


    ¡°Is-... is red hair that bad¡­?¡±


    ¡°Of course not! Don''t be silly. Lucille Ball spent so much on henna rinse just to get it a mediocre red! But if it is truly your hair color, then no need to worry. Now, Any questions?¡± she asked. Elyan and I were competent enough to understand her instructions. ¡°Good, now you may sign the contract.¡±


    After clearing more technical things of the contract, Elyan and I got take out and ate it on the shore. Not one word was said during our walk back. I had to start conversations with him.


    ¡°...This is really worrying me.¡± I asked, taking into account that the clouds were dark and dangerously low.


    ¡°What is?¡± Elyan asked, even though he didn¡¯t really seem interested in the topic. ¡°The monster sightings¡­ Maybe that explains how the beaches are desolate,¡± I theorized. Elyan just hummed as he stared at the water. That ticked me off. Normally the bastard would be up and down in a nervous jitter convincing me these hunters needed to die, but he had something far greater and scary plaguing him and it didn¡¯t make him flinch at the topic... ¡°You haven¡¯t heard anything at all? I remember you darting from the bathtub to the next galaxy if a monster even moved,¡± I added.


    ¡°I have, but I only attack if they pose a threat, not when they are not harming anyone¡­¡±


    ¡°Bullshit, you made me attack something back then--¡±


    ¡°No, I used the opportunity. While my methods were flawed and used it to help you grow, I used it to set the soul free¡­ The moment you were stuck in your hysteria, I thought you were becoming a monster¡­¡± After he said that, he looked at me. His broken soul eyes said more than his words. That slapped me in the face too hard. I killed a child thinking its a monster and that it deserved to die, but I acted like one when I lost my fucking mind. Elyan was conflicted on how he handled the hunters. To be honest, I was too.


    ¡°What was going through your mind when that was happening¡­?¡±


    ¡°I renounced my title as king,¡± Elyan said firmly.


    ¡°Huh? Why the hell would you do that? You were so into that shit.¡±


    ¡°I will go for a swim.¡± Elyan stood up and undressed to his underwear. I didn''t know what came over him, he always told me everything that bothered him but he needs space to think.


    I watched His Holiness King of Earth, or now mortal citizen, Elyan walk towards the water singing quietly. The sea foam caressed his toes as he tested the temperature. He crossed the frontier between earth and water and settled between the waves¡¯ embrace. The God of Stars and Dreams sunk into the water as his shoulders trembled.


    I felt a drop of rain land on my face, as I look up the cloud cave in and rain down, progressively getting stronger. I groaned and gathered my husband to take refuge in the lighthouse so we can rest and start our new lives in a new day. Something startled me as I went through the water, something pulled me under so fast I didn''t even feel it till I choke on salt water.


    Then I was face to face with a hunter. It was the strangest motherfucker I ever seen, it was a mutated jellyfish with a television set as a core. I swing my hammer at it breaking the core. Soon after, a comet burst through, grabbing me in the process and brought us to safety on the shore. I gasp for air as my husband held me up. ¡°What the actual fuck!?¡± I yelled.


    ¡°C-clandestine h-hunters¡­¡± Elyan utters.


    ¡°A fucking what?!¡±


    ¡°They a-are trash hunters, discarded and l-left somewhere to die, only to re-amp and resurface.¡± Elyan looked towards me with concerned. ¡°Are you wounded, my prince?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± I groaned and grabbed my hammer. ¡°Are-- ELYAN!¡± I never noticed the massive gash from his shoulder down to his stomach. I dropped my hammer and focused on his wound. ¡°Oh my fucking God! Elyan!¡±


    ¡°M-m-my love, I-I am fine. It¡¯s j-just a mediocre scrat-tch,¡± Elyan jittered with a bright smile.


    ¡°A scratch-- Elyan--¡± the hunter cut me off as they dragged themselves from the water. Elyan readied his ring blade and I held my hammer steadily. ¡°Be cautious, my love.¡± Elyan threw his ring slashing several into piles of electrical goo. The moment Elyan caught the ring, the electrical current shock through his body. He fell onto one knee struggling to contain the electricity. I shoot to his side, ¡°Jesus fucking Christ, Elyan¡­!¡±


    ¡°I-I...mngh..!¡± Elyan pulled himself up ready to strike the next wave of hunters. ¡°W-we nee-ed to¡­¡± Of course my husband needed to sacrifice himself for a world that is willing to fuck him over. Instead of insisting, I helped him so I can treat him quickly. I rushed like a mad man to smash the hunters¡¯ cores. Elyan threw his ring, this time he made sure to never physically touch the ring. When Elyan used his gravity powers, sometimes the raindrops were pinned in mid air and sometimes it rained backwards. It was really cool to see.


    After Elyan slayed the last one, did his body collapsed onto his hands and knees. ¡°Elyan!¡± I tossed my hammer over my shoulder for it to sink back into my exposed cavity and ran like the wind. ¡°Elyan! Are you okay?¡± I helped him up to his feet. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine, I just need to sleep it off¡­¡± He raised his arm for his ring to spin back to a bracelet. ¡°Specially since we work tomorrow¡­¡± he added.


    ¡°Elyan, please let me patch you up¡­¡± I begged him, It was pretty bad and I know if he kept that open it would be an obstacle in his job.


    ¡°Please, do,¡± he chuckles and suddenly the rain pinned in place above our heads, like a thousand chandeliers. If it were in a different scenario, I would admit that was pretty romantic. ¡°You did magnificently, Josiah¡­¡± My cheeks flushed a tinge of pink. ¡°I just try to keep up with you¡­¡± I answered.


    Elyan made a shortcut to the lighthouse, he created a stairway using the very drops he froze in place, it¡¯s like stepping on warm ice, its slippery and king of scary if we fall off.


    I carried Elyan into the safety of the lighthouse and quickly began to work on the wound. It was deeper than I anticipated, Elyan is very careful when he is fighting, to have such a deep gash is unsettling. I made sure he didn¡¯t have any internal damages to vital organs or bones I sutured him up. Elyan was trembling, I suspected it was from the shock, or because he was cold. ¡°I am almost done,¡± I assured him. ¡°Please, do what you must, my prince...¡± Elyan hissed.


    After the last thread, I wrapped him in gauze and dried him carefully. ¡°I was so careless¡­¡± he confessed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. Just be more careful. You don¡¯t need to hear this from me,¡± I scold him. ¡°Let¡¯s get you dressed.¡± I grabbed his night set and helped him put them on. ¡°Will you be okay with work tomorrow?¡± I asked as I made a pile of blankets and wool clothes into a comfortable mattress. Elyan just smiled and laid back slowly. ¡°After I rested, I will be back to normal,¡± he promised.


    ¡°Never forget to lean on me when you feel like the world is too heavy, Elyan¡­¡± I said. His eyes almost fell out of his skull and they glazed with an iridescent layer. Elyan chuckled nervously and said, ¡°you are my world, Josiah. You were never heavy to begin with¡­¡±