Arc 1: Chapter 16, "Vulnerability"
After the Church of Serenity disappeared, everything went back to normal. People stopped feeling kind, warm, and fuzzy, going back to living their normal lives. Of course, some people who were being helped by others around them were sad because they were no longer receiving free food and clothes, but what they had already received would last them for days.
Some people who helped them did not feel any regret and felt happy and relieved that they were able to help other people without any worries, while some tried to take back their things.
But who returns their gifts?
…
In the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Nursery room
Voyage was in the hands of a nurse and had a big smile on his face as she played with him. The effect of the Church of Serenity had a huge effect on him, considering he was a baby whose Domain of Emotions was very fragile at that time. He could be easily emotionally manipulated.
Voyage was happily playing just when the effects wore off, and he cringed after seeing what he was doing. He stopped and looked at the nurse, and opened his mouth.
"Wahhhhhhhhhh!" Voyage cried out loud, making the nurse try to calm him down as she walked frantically to get him some milk. She felt warm around her hand for some reason and stopped and turned her head to look toward her right hand, which was holding Voyage. It was all wet. Voyage had just pissed and was staring at the nurse like he was the most innocent thing in the entire world.
She sighed in regret for not putting on his diaper.
…
Eric walked away from Church Street and teleported to the Pariellete District using his Golden Liquid.
He contacted Max through his phone and told him to come there.
A spark of gold crackled as Max teleported there and ran up to him with a worried face.
"Are you okay? I was not able to contact you in any way just a few minutes before. I thought you got attacked. So, where were you? And also, what about the effect of the Uniqueness of the Goodness Pathway? I thought a Hypernova-level Aura user was roaming freely. Even after I used my ability to remove my emotions, new emotions were still being made."
Max bombarded him with one question after another. Eric quietly listened to Max asking all his questions and telling him all the theories he speculated.
After Max finally stopped talking, Eric finally opened his mouth to speak.
"The source of the effect of the Uniqueness of the Goodness Pathway was coming from a church. The church's name was the Church of Serenity."
Max quietly listened to Eric telling him about the core of the effect. However, just as he heard the name of the Church, his purple and golden liquid started to surge up in his body and cause ripples in an attempt to take over his subconsciousness and body, causing him a lot of pain.
Max growled in pain. However, he was no stranger to these situations. He clenched his hands and endured the pain and didn't falter. His forehead drenched in cold sweat, soon the liquids in his body calmed down, and the pain subsided.
"Damn, just hearing the name of that Church made me almost lose control. Was that church a Rank 0 relic of the Goodness Pathway or something?" Max wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at Eric. To his question, Eric, with his expressionless face, shook his head in refusal, crossed his arms, and answered, "No, it was not. I met a Father there. He called himself Father Irenaeus. He told me that this Church is something even greater and more important than a Rank 0 relic, but to comprehend what it was, we need to be at least Hypernova level. Just knowing that the Church's name has brought us close to losing control. Just imagine what will happen if we actually try to comprehend it. The result can be easily guessed."
Max nodded his head like an obedient student agreeing to what the teacher in front of him had said. "So, what happened to you exactly?"
Eric sighed and started to explain all the things that happened, from his trying to find the source of the effect to his talk with the local man to his meeting and conversation with Father Irenaeus, to his memory being read by Angel Spirits and him having to give a confession to get a relic. He did not tell in detail what questions were asked and what he answered, and did not disclose the information about the relic to him yet.
"So, you got a relic? What rank is it? It must be quite powerful, hmm… Since the Goodness Pathway is all about Angel Spirits, blessings, and sacrifices of oneself, did you get a relic related to one of these powers?"
Eric looked at him with a serious look as if to warn him to get ready to hear something ground-shaking. Max instantly understood what Eric meant from his gaze and got his guard up.
Eric reached into his left pocket and took out a silver earring. If anyone looked at it, no one could tell this earring apart from a normal one. However, its appearance didn't matter; what mattered was its rank, effects, and negative effects.
Eric slowly opened his mouth to create a heavy atmosphere around them, making Max feel more anxious by the second, and he finally spoke after taking a long sigh. "This is a Rank 0 relic of the Goodness Pathway. It can…" Eric told him all the information about the relic that he had right now.
"..."
Max was taken aback. His eyes widened in shock as he stared between Eric and the earring. First came shock at hearing Rank 0, then came disbelief when he heard about the effects and usage, then came worry about how they would handle the negative effects, then came relief upon finding out that they wouldn't have to take on the negative effects—which, if they looked from a different angle, meant they could basically wreak havoc without worrying about the negative effects.
It was scary to think how much destruction it could cause in the wrong hands, but relics were weapons after all.
But when there is gain, there is loss. A coin always has two sides. Their life experiences have ingrained cautiousness in their souls. Despite having a free pass to use a powerful weapon with no recoil, they were still wary of any hidden recoil.
After feeling a wide range of emotions, Max now felt excitement—excitement to use the relic and test out all its limits. However, he didn't dare to just snatch the relic away and use it. He was still too scared to even touch a Rank 0 relic, let alone use it. But he did not have to use the relic himself to use the relic. Max looked at Eric with big puppy eyes, and Eric sighed, knowing what Max wanted to do, but he didn't let his cute act get to him.
Playing with a Rank 0 relic was like playing with your life. Even if the Church had said that they would take care of all its negative effects, there were still many ways one could die from a Rank 0 relic. There was no end to these possibilities.
"Let's just try to use the bare minimum first," Eric said with a little fear in his tone. He was about to use it when he suddenly realized something. He looked around and saw they were in a crowded area. He could not have any accidents happen in public, especially when they were so vulnerable. He was worried that they might get attacked by multiple Supernovas right now from different organizations for the relic. Good things sure bring worry. He was genuinely worried but was also scared of using the relic, so he used the public area as an excuse and postponed the use of the relic until they returned home.
"Oh, with that said, there is a low-level curse spirit that has been annoying Ruby lately. We will have to hunt it tonight. Let's try the relic for that to test it."
Max smiled at him with a scared look and agreed as they both nodded their heads. "Yes, yes, you are right. Let's go now."
Max and Eric laughed, turned around, and went back to patrolling as Eric put the earring back into his pocket.
The entire day passed without any problems or attacks. It was a rather peaceful one.
At night, Max and Eric returned to the police station and submitted their service guns to the scrawny man in the register and left for home. They were both scared and excited to use this powerful Rank 0 relic. Who knows how many had gotten the chance to even lay their eyes upon one, especially Max, who couldn't stop his body shaking from excitement.
They walked to their apartment rooms, acting normal, like nothing had changed.
After reaching home, Max and Eric went to their own rooms. They had already decided to try to hunt the curse spirit at midnight. Eric opened the door and heard the cheery voice of Ruby welcoming him. "Welcome home."
Eric stepped inside and saw Ruby making dinner. A spicy smell was coming from the kitchen. "Is it gonna be something spicy for dinner tonight?"
Ruby didn't turn her head and just nodded and replied, "Yes, I was thinking of doing something different for today. We have had too much Parisian food ever since we moved here, so I decided to make Chinese noodles today."
Eric smiled at her and asked, "So, what was the title of the video you saw?" Ruby didn't act surprised. It was too obvious at this point. She turned her face away and answered, "It was 'Five spicy Chinese foods that will make your mouth spew fire.'"
"Haha, let's see if it will." Eric laughed and went to take a shower. He removed his clothes, looked at the earring, and thought for a second about what to do with it. He was worried someone might come and steal it if he placed it anywhere random. He didn't plan to wear it yet. He had a lot of other plans for it. He looked up and stared for a few seconds, then dropped the earring. The earring didn't drop to the ground and started to float and flew out from the bathroom, getting hidden somewhere.
Eric stopped thinking as he took a cold shower and cleaned every part, got out, dried himself up, tied his hair into a ponytail, and wore light-blue nightwear.
He walked out and sat at the dining table with Ruby to have dinner. He sat down as he looked at what he was gonna eat tonight. It was just red noodles on a plate with a glass of water. It was nothing special really, but Eric still smiled and looked at Ruby and asked with worry in his tone, "Are your shoulders still hurting?" Ruby looked at Eric and said, "No." "Do you still feel someone is watching you?" Eric asked with a more gentle smile. "No. The feeling is still there, but it is so small that it has become insignificant now," Ruby replied. "Good. Don't worry. After tonight, you won't ever be worried by anything like that."
Ruby stayed, and they started to eat. Eric took his fork and rolled the noodles on the fork and ate them. They were… spicy. Wait, maybe a bit too spicy!
Eric started to cough due to the spiciness and drank his glass of water in one gulp. Ruby was no different. She also drank her glass of water, and they both started to breathe heavily through their mouths to handle the spice. "Maybe… I made the noodles too spicy," she said. "Yes, you did," Eric blurted out while trying to eat another bite. After a while, they both stood up and drank more water and finally felt relieved after drinking some cold water, but they were not uncivilized people and finished what they had made.
They sat down again with a can of milk each and continued to eat. The spice was not the bad type of spice. It was the type that makes you want to eat more of it despite hurting you. Eric praised Ruby for it while eating.
"Can I ask you something?" Ruby asked Eric with a worried expression. Eric looked up at her while chewing and replied, "Yes, you can ask me anything." Ruby half-closed her eyes and looked down at her plate, and asked in a low tone,
"Are you okay?"
She looked up at Eric's face. He had a smile on his face—a big smile which showed his compassion and happiness—but his eyes… they were black and hollow, devoid of any emotions, making him look very scary.
Eric looked at her, still smiling, and asked,
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
Eric looked down and ate another bite and chewed, and he realized something. He was not feeling the taste of the food. He still smiled and made an expression that he was loving it.
"No, it's just that you are acting unusually and your eyes look dead."
Ruby spoke in a whisper, looking away, barely audible. Eric smiled at her again and felt something was wrong. He put down the fork and stared at her hands. He realized that he was not feeling anything. His body was… cold. He stopped smiling at the fact and had a confused, worried, and scared expression on his face.
He stood up, took his plate and the empty glass of water and the can of milk, and went to the kitchen, placed the glass and plate in the sink and the can of milk in the fridge, and walked to the sofa and sat down, staring at the floor, silently…
Ruby finished her meal and went to put back the dirty utensils, and glanced at Eric from the kitchen. She was scared of his eyes and behaviour and wanted to approach him, but she was too scared. However, it is at times like these that a partner helps the other. If she couldn't help him right now, when he was at his lowest, could she deserve to be by his side for the rest of his life?
Ruby clenched her hands and put them before her chest and walked up to Eric while staring at him with a worried expression, and sat down beside him on the sofa. She put her right hand on his left cheek and turned his head to face her.
Eric put his left hand over her right hand and looked at her. A tear fell from his eye as it dropped down his left cheek and fell on her right hand. Eric was still trying to smile while looking at her.
"Don't try to make a fake smile. I know when you are actually happy,"
Ruby blurted out while pouting. Eric stopped smiling slowly and just stared at her. Ruby said to him in a whisper. Her voice seemed to sound so gentle and loving, as if an angel was talking to him.
"I do not know what is happening to you these days, Eric. I know you are hurting, stressed, scared, have doubts, thinking of others while not caring about yourself. I am not going to pry on your privacy and your secrets."
She looked up at him and looked at him with a warm expression.
"I know you have a lot on your plate. I have noticed you acting weird these last days. There are many things to work on. Don't worry, everything will turn out fine."
She looked at him straight into his eyes. Her eyes had become teary and wet too, and she continued, "But just remember, I am always here to support you. If you want someone to cry with, talk with, share your troubles with, I am always here for you—to help you with your troubles, to listen to you, and give you a shoulder to cry on. You can be vulnerable in front of me."
A tear fell from her right eye as she spoke and started to sob. Just then, Eric asked,
"Then, can I borrow your bosom?"
Ruby stopped sobbing and made a confused look on her face, which was followed by an angry look as she flicked him on his forehead with her right hand. Eric grunted from the pain as he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Ruby with her arms open, waiting for him with her face red like a tomato.
"Hurry up," she urged him.
Eric bent down and pressed his face against her bosom as his hands hugged her back while she stroked his hair. He felt… at peace. He didn't get any lust or arousal from it. He was simply peaceful with being in the place where he was.
They were both silent for a while until Eric blurted out, "I have realized something."
"What is it?" Ruby asked Eric.
"That I am a very bad person." Ruby smiled as she continued to stroke his hair. "Everyone is a bad person. No one is truly good or evil. Everyone has their bottom lines. Why do you think you are a bad person? If you were a bad person, I would have never married you, you know."
Eric closed his eyes and asked her a question. "If I turn out to be a bad guy, then what will you do?" Ruby, in return, asked him another question. "By bad, what do you mean? To me, being bad is being neglectful, disrespectful, uncaring, selfish, hurting others, not buying your cute wife who works for you every day any gifts."
Eric chuckled at her remark and answered, "By bad, I mean someone who loathes themselves, understands what kind of person they are, and is not trying to change themselves, having awareness but no power to control their emotions and overthink things."
"If this is your definition of being bad, then I definitely don't hate you. Everybody hates themselves—even I do that. Not being able to change is something you can do nothing about if what you are is what you are inherently. Having awareness is also the same."
"Ruby, I…I…" Eric tried to say something. He closed and opened his mouth many times, but he couldn't say it. "It's fine. Just rest for now," Ruby whispered to him. Eric slowly fell asleep.
He woke up one hour later and found that he was still on Ruby's bosom. He raised his body using his hands and looked at Ruby lying on the sofa, sleeping. Eric's eyes had returned to their original heterochromatic pink eyes by now, and he felt a lot lighter.
"Let's get you to bed," he whispered as he carried her and walked to the bedroom, laid her on the bed, and walked out of the room.
He walked to the bathroom, stood in front of the sink, and looked at his face in the mirror—at least, he wanted to. There was no reflection visible to his eyes. He opened the tap and poured some water on his face as his head started to hurt. His breath turned heavy, and he bent down. Small white wings started to grow on the surface of his skin. They kept increasing and increasing till they could envelop his entire body, but Eric endured. He calmed his mind and half-closed his eyes, took out the golden liquid, and focused. Soon, the small white wings dissipated, and he went back to normal. He stood up again, put his fingers in his mouth, and gagged the end of his tongue until he started to vomit all the food he had eaten an hour ago. He threw up all the food and felt focused.
Out of the wall, Max walked out with a worried expression with a grey bubble by his side and asked Eric, "Hey, man, are you okay? You were just about to lose control."