It is seven in the morning, and Nox is seated at a long dining table in an even bigger dining room, sitting to the right of the head chair. The head chair is empty, but the chair to his left is anything but. Seated across from him is Rakï, dressed in an emerald green mermaid-hem skirt, a baggy wool sweater, and plush white slippers. Her locks are bundled into a messy bun, and dark circles cast shadows beneath her eyes. Silence blankets the room as Nox focuses on his plate of waffles, occasionally picking from the other dishes on the table, while his aunt mechanically sips a cup of coffee.
"... Nox dear,"
Nox looks up with a questioning gaze. Rakï sets her cup down and picks a glazed donut from a nearby plate. "Your father will be joining the meal. We need to... tell you a few things."
Nox frowns but says nothing, reaching for a glass of orange juice instead. Rakï watches him, then asks cautiously, "Are you okay with this? I don't want someone trying to stab a butter knife into the other midway into the discussion."
Nox lets out a snort of laughter. "If anyone is going to be stabbing anyone, it'll be me..."
Rakï chuckles. At that moment, the double doors to the dining room swing open. Silvanus saunters inside, his slippers barely making a sound. Behind him walks Zayne, dressed in a sharp black butler's uniform, carefully cradling Meimei in his arms. The atmosphere shifts instantly. Nox sits up straighter, his eyes dropping back to his food, while the corners of Rakï's mouth twitch slightly. '... This is going to be a disaster...'
Meimei spots Nox and leaps from Zayne's arms, bounding over to the chubby boy. She jumps onto his lap and purrs loudly.
Master! Did you miss me?
Nox's lip twitches involuntarily. 'Yeah, I missed you a lot.' He pats her head, and she purrs, deeply satisfied.
Silvanus sits at the head of the table, calmly picking up his fork and knife. Zayne skillfully places a fresh cup of coffee near him before minimizing his presence, melting silently into a corner of the room. And so, the three eat in a very uncomfortable silence.
Barely two minutes later, Rakï sets her cutlery down and stares at the two men, looking utterly frustrated. "You two are making this seem like a hostage situation... I can't take this anymore!"
They both look up at her, the tense atmosphere easing just a fraction. She glares directly at Silvanus. "Your child just came back, and instead of easing up a bit, you're traumatizing him! What is wrong with you?!" She huffs.
Silvanus sets his cup down and rubs his temples.
"... Sigh~... Zayne, put up a sound-blocking barrier."
"Yes, Chairman."
Immediately, a thin, translucent layer spreads from the floor of the opulent dining room, crawling up the walls and sealing across the ceiling. Rakï huffs one last time, then softens her fierce expression as she looks at her nephew. "Nox, there are some things we need to discuss."
Nox pauses, a bit confused by what she might say next.
"Hmm, how do I even start this conversation?..."
Rakï strokes her chin and mutters under her breath. "... Hmm... Oh well, I'll just wing it!" She shrugs, then faces Nox with a completely serious expression.
"Nox, our family isn't a normal family. I say this not because we're ridiculously wealthy or because we have a strictly regulated number of members... Our ancestry has a very complicated past. You see, in this world, we originally had two gods, not one. We had the God of Light and Brilliance, and the God of Darkness and Chaos. The two played entirely different roles, which maintained the absolute balance of our world. The God of Light and Brilliance is the Sovereign of the Physical Plane of our world. The Physical Plane is the plane of the tangible, basically. All of the infrastructure, systems, and societies we have today exist in the Physical Plane. Now, the God of Darkness and Chaos was the Sovereign of the Spiritual Plane. The Spiritual Plane is home to the intangible. These two planes exist simultaneously on Terra, and each God made sure to maintain order. Then we need to talk about why, normally, the inhabitants of the Physical Plane can't see, interact with, or sometimes even know about the existence of the Spiritual Plane. It is due to something called The Veil. As the name suggests, it is a barrier between both planes that prevents the inhabitants of the two worlds from perceiving and interacting with each other."
Nox takes all of this in, realizing that what Veil had told him months earlier was completely true.
Rakï takes a quick sip of coffee then continues, "Now, sometimes, creatures from the Spiritual Plane manifest in our plane when someone summons them, or if they are simply in a place where the Veil isn't as strong due to a buildup of Malevolent Energy. This can lead to possessions. There can also be cases where a creature is chained or unable to leave a certain area. There are several kinds of creatures that reside in the Spiritual Plane, and most have different ways of causing harm to the Physical Plane. So, in order for the gods to manage their respective planes, they needed a middleman—a Vessel."
Nox speaks up at this moment. "Why do Sovereigns of whole planes of existence need middlemen? Can't they just do it themselves?"
Rakï smiles gently. "Actually, there is something called The Rule. We don't know exactly what it is, but all we do know is that according to The Rule, no god can directly descend onto Terra. If they do, the world cannot contain the sheer weight of the Divine, and thus, the world will be destroyed."
Nox takes in a sharp breath, now fully understanding why Veil was so intensely fixated on him.
"Since the gods can't descend, they need a Vessel," Rakï explains. "There can only be one Vessel at a time for each god. This is because the two deities made a Covenant in order to prevent instability. Now, our very first ancestor was chosen by the God of Darkness and Chaos. He had three wives who gave him thirteen children in total. The God of Darkness favored our ancestor so much that they made a Covenant. From that Covenant, all of his descendants received blessings: incredible athletic prowess, longer lifespans, and a special constitution called the Chaos Divine Body. This constitution allows us to perceive and interact with the Spiritual Plane. Those thirteen children formed thirteen family branches, headed by the First Branch. Since our first ancestor, all Vessels of the God of Darkness and Chaos have come from our family."
Rakï pauses, closely studying Nox's expression. Nox is beyond confused, but he continues to listen intently—completely missing the fact that Meimei has just stealthily snatched a piece of waffle right off his plate.