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Sunlight was already filtering through the curtains, illuminating Gouten's face.
Half asleep, he turned his body to avoid the direct beam. He rubbed his eyes listlessly… until he felt something furry brush against his abdomen.
She raised her head and saw Oliver fast asleep. Then she looked toward the window, recognizing that it was a bright day. Turning again…
...a long, serpentine tail slithered along his back.
"Good morning," Gouten murmured, between a yawn and bewilderment.
"Good morning?" he repeated, frowning.
Seeing the wagging tail again, his expression changed in a second.
—OLIVER! AN ANIMAL GOT IN!
The scream was so loud that it woke Oliver with a start, his eyes wide.
"What the hell is going on?" Oliver yelled, his voice still hoarse from sleep.
"That animal is trying to get up my butt!" Gouten squealed, tugging hard on the tail. "It won't let go! It hurts!"
Seeing the supposed animal, Oliver screamed and ran to help.
Gouten, desperate, took off his shirt and lowered his pants a little.
"Gouten, wait!" Oliver exclaimed, stopping in his tracks at the sight of his cousin's back. "That tail... it's not tucked in."
-Hey!?
—It comes out of your waist...
They stared at each other for a second, frozen.
And then, without saying anything else, they both ran out of the room, shouting:
—MAAAAX!!!
The dry blows of a hoe broke the stillness.
A drop of sweat fell onto the turned earth. A rough hand wiped his forehead, leaving a trail of dirt. A high-pitched, annoying buzzing sound entered his ears.
Max, plowing the garden, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He scratched his ear with his pinky finger, as if that would silence the noise. It didn't work.
"Where's that annoying noise coming from?" he growled, frowning.
He turned his head and saw them.
Oliver and Gouten came running down the hill, shouting, waving their arms as if the devil was chasing them.
Max stood up straight. He instinctively clenched his fists.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, ready for the worst.
"What's going on?" Max asked, bewildered, looking back the way they'd come, searching for a threat.
But then he saw one. A long tail swished nervously from behind Gouten.
"I grew a tail!" Gouten cried, pale.
"I'm turning into a monkey! I don't want to be a monkey!" he shrieked, pedaling in the air and pulling at his tail as if he could tear it off.
Max looked at her for a few seconds, and suddenly burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at, clown?" Gouten yelled at him furiously.
"I'm turning into a monkey!"
"Come on... stop yelling. It's normal for us," Max commented calmly, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his wrist.
"Huh?" Oliver and Gouten exclaimed in unison, completely bewildered.
"What do you mean, ' normal ?'" Gouten asked, letting go of his tail as if he still doubted its existence.
"It's natural for us to grow a tail between the ages of 7 and 10," Max explained. "It's like our entry into puberty... our beastly side begins to develop."
"Seeing that you've grown a tail reassures me more than if you didn't have one," Max confessed. "First, it means we still have the Senkayne gene active. And second... the tail is a tool of potential."
" Normal , you say?" Gouten insisted, still incredulous. "And your tail?"
Max was silent for a few seconds. Then he loosened his belt and tugged at the back of his pants. A muscular tail emerged, moving calmly.
—A Senkayne warrior chooses whether or not to use his tail in battle. In my case… I consider it a disadvantage.
"Why didn't you ever tell us this? You could have saved us a scare!" Gouten complains.
"I forgot..." Max replies with an innocent smile.
"You're a 19-year-old idiot, Max!" Gouten shouts, annoyed. "What kind of powers does a tail have?" Oliver asks, touching his lower back. "And why haven't I grown one yet?" "I never said it gives you powers... at least not in the way you imagine."
—Senkayne mythology speaks of three gods: Tamiashiki, god of the mind; Omnios, god of power; and the great Gouron, the beast god. According to legend, we were created by Gouron, molded in his image… but in a more refined form. That's how he perceived himself: as a thinking beast.
—That's why we inherited their greatest symbol: the tail. A reminder of our origins.
—But the tail isn't just an ornament. It's a neutral gift. It can benefit you or destroy you. It's a sign that we're also beasts, and as the god said: "We are beasts, but that doesn't mean we should act like them . "
—Taming your tail is more than just knowing how to wag it. It's mastering the instinct that comes with it. Only by doing so… can you access its true power: Kyodaina Fury , or as I like to call it, Kyado Mode .
"What happens if we don't master that instinct?" Gouten asks, more seriously.
"So, until they do... you're going to sleep in your rooms with the blinds and curtains closed. No nightlights.
" "Huh? Why?" they both asked in unison.
—Because if they come into contact with starlight now, without training… they will transform into the true form of the great Gouron . A beastly being, without control, a living threat.
"True form? Ah... I understand now," Oliver says, reasoning. "You said we were created in his likeness, as he saw himself. A humanoid with a tail. But under the stars... we take on his true form: a primitive monster."
"Exactly," Max agreed. "Gouron wasn't an uncontrolled beast… but our tail is, if we don't learn to control it."
Look at his brother.
"And as for you, don't worry... it's just a matter of time before it grows... don't overthink it..." Max clarifies to Oliver.
"Yeah... okay," Oliver murmurs, noticing how everything calmed down thanks to Max's explanation and words.
"Changing the subject… what are you doing?" Gouten asks, looking at the plowed land and the hoe at the side.
"I want to work to earn money… but when we came to this world, I didn't put in the effort to get into elementary or middle school… so I don't have the foundation for college or a good job," Max explains. "I see… then it's your turn to play farmer and greengrocer," Gouten mocks with a smile. "Laugh if you want, brat… and enjoy your childhood while you can," Max replies seriously. "Baldur told me that when they're old enough, he's going to have them work with me. He'll also put them in middle school.
" "But… we didn't go to elementary school," Oliver points out. "Baldur's teaching them the basics at home. It's as if they were in primary school there," Max says, scratching the back of his neck, though he doesn't sound very convinced. "Changing the subject… how's training with Baldur going?" "What's the newest thing you've learned?" "Um…" Oliver stammers thoughtfully. "What if we fight and show you what we know?" Gouten suggests excitedly. "You didn't even have breakfast…" Max interrupts. "Let's have a duel after you've had something to eat. I'm already bored of all that plowing…" "Yeah, sounds good to me!" Oliver says, grinning. "That would be great!" Gouten adds, running off towards the house. "Hey, wait for me!" Oliver shouts, trotting after him.