Warm sunlight poured through the curtains, illuminating Luke's motionless figure laying on the bed. He grimaced and turned to the other side, attempting to avoid it. It was useless though, because someone else opened the whole curtains.
He groaned and turned to the perpetrator.
A beautiful woman with auburn hair and brown eyes looked at him with a smile. The room seemed brighter, as if responding to that smile. He felt something inside him stir, an unexplainable emotion bubbling up inside him. The emotion was intense and yet, it was feint and distant at the same time.
When the woman spoke, he felt a different emotion. Her voice was warm and soft, just the smile frozen on her pale ivory face. Warmth filled Luke's heart, chasing away all negative thoughts and emotions, leaving only the current moment.
"Get up Luke, I am serious. I know it is Saturday and that means no Academy, but it is already 9 am. Wake up, freshen up and come joins us for breakfast."
He pouted.
"Argh come on mom. Just let rest for a few minutes, it has been a very long week. I'll join you guys after a short nap."
She chuckled and pulled the blanket Luke was hiding under.
"You silly goose. I am serious get up. Your tea is getting cold. Freshen up and join us for breakfast. I made your favorite banana bread."
She did not wait for him to retort, and just headed straight to the kitchen. The moment Luke heard 'banana bread', his eyes lit up and jumped from his bead and landed on the floor with a loud thud. He did not even fix his bed, and sprinted towards the bathroom.
The smell filled the air. Frest, zesty and enthralling as always. His mother always made the best banana breads ever – well, according to Luke that is. They were simply to die for. He had often wondered why she did not start a business and sell them, but the answer he got was always the same.
The alluring scent would attract more than just customers...
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he dashed towards the kitchen with his focus fully on the plates arranged on the table. The bread had already been cut, and so he was scanning every single slice, looking for the largest one. When he found the slice he had been looking for, but he met another obstacle as well.
His brother.
Turns out, his older brother – the twin – had already claimed the larger piece. When their eyes met, all hell broke loose. His brother was older and stronger, while Luke was only 16. The twins were both Gentries, while Luke and his mother were mere Commonalities. He did not stand a chance on the war for that slice.
The other twin remained indifferent, as if the whole argument did not phase his at all. He was looking at Luke with a peculiar expression, but then quickly regained his composure. The war for the bigger piece raged on until their mother intervened.
"Settle down you two. Both of you are way too strong to be fighting like little children. Did they not teach you how to behave on the Academy? What if you break the table? If you do, none of you will get the banana bread do you hear me."
"But mom–"
"Uh-uh no buts Luke. Cease this quarrel right now, and I might even consider giving both of you bigger pieces. Until you learn proper table manners, the bigger piece goes to your brother."
She slid the plate towards the other twin – the one that had been silent the whole time. He looked at the plate in front of him and frowned. The sounds of arguing around him sounded like background noise. Everything was unnatural and bent.
Everything felt wrong.
His lips twisted involuntarily into a wicked smile, as he took a generous bite of the bread. He moaned in pleasure as he intently chowed down on the big piece with a smirk.
"You heard that right? Learn table manners and you just might get a big piece next time. But with the way things are progressing, I doubt that is even possible."
He burst out laughing, almost choking on the bread still in his mouth. He looked at his twin brother and grinned.
"And you Matt, when you ever learn? Grow up dammit you are 26 years old for crying out loud. You cannot be arguing with a child a decade younger than you. You are so disappointing you know that?"
Matt looked at him silently for a few seconds, and then scoffed.
"Shut up Jake. You talk with your mouthful and yet I am the one who has to learn table manners. You are so wicked dear brother, you wanted the bigger slice for yourself from the beginning, didn't you?"
Jake did not respond, he just chuckled and turned away.
"Shut up all of you."
Their mother snarled.
"Why do you always do this? Just enjoy your breakfast in peace dammit. If you continue like this, I am never baking the banana bread for you ever again. I would like to see how you would survive Saturdays then. Argh, being a mother to three boys is such a chore."
She said the last sentence in a barely audible tone. They all looked at each other and spoke in unison.
"We're sorry mom."
All in all, the rest of breakfast was fine, delightful even, just like it always was. Luke was always happy to be with his family, even though they were still incomplete, he was still glad his mother loved unconditionally so as to not abandon them like their father did.
They chatted about how the twins adjusted to being Gentries, how it even felt being one. The twins bragged about how nice it was to have two Abilities. They had recently received promotions synonymous to their respective ranks, and the family was pretty much in good spirits.
The atmosphere was warm and light. The feeling was eerie and unfamiliar, even though Luke was used to the lively environment. He did not pay too much attention to the alien feeling, and just enjoyed company with his family. There was something else troubling him as well.
The strange way Jake looked at him from time to time.
But apart from that, he felt very happy.
And that was precisely the problem.
#
"STOP."
Nyx's voice echoed across the spacious cave, carrying unexplainable depth and command to it. Space itself responded, albeit on a very small scale, but the real victims were the creatures in front of her.
The abominations was not exactly colossal, but Nyx was extremely tired after killing dozens of Chaos Creatures as she moved further down the giant cave. The spacious cave resembled a grand hall more, its walls littered with countless symbols and runes her mind refused to translate.
They were not part of her Nightmare after all, and thus not part of the Weave.
There were dozens of creatures laying dead behing her, with another horde in front. She was beaten as well, her body with the basic qualities of a Commonality to heal itself. The process was slow and odious, but it was better than nothing.
It had been a few hours since she arrived on the Skysea Island – according to her estimation that is – and she had already cut down more creatures than a Commonality of her level should have been able to handle.
In those few hours, she had time to take a good look at her Ability and try to understand it better. According to the description, her voice can command the heavens –or at least has the potential to. She had the ability to enforce her will upon the world, through her voice.
There was a limit though, every Ability had a limit.
After experimenting for quite some time, she found out that the commands she gave her enemies have to not only be one-worded, but also realistic. Her powers went against the very nature of existence, so it made sense that existence would force its laws back at her.
For instance, she could not command a creature to 'kill itself' because her commands can only be one-worded. Similarly, she could not command a creature to just 'die' because that went against the nature of existence.
Maybe if she grew powerful enough, she would be able to defy those laws and shape existence according to her will. But for now, all she could say is 'stop.'
The creatures she was facing now were about average in power compared to Commonalities. They did not have powers worth a mention – hell, they did not even have powers at all. So she could deal with a large number of them effectively.
They all came to a halt, obeying her command. They stood still and looked at her. She did not know whether they stood still only because she had told them to, or they were truly in place. What if when she got close enough to kill them, they lunged at her without actually moving? So she had to be extra sure.
"FREEZE."
Nothing interesting happened, but something about they way the abominations were now frozen in place made her feel safe and secure. She stepped closer to the nearest abomination and slit its throat – more like stabbed it, considering the weapon she was carrying.
[You have slain an Anarchy Incarnate, the Azure Beast]
She realized something else as he stared at the motionless corpse in front of her. She did not really need to kill all of them. Freezing them in place was enough. She would freeze every other creature she met along the way, until she really had to kill in order to replenish her essence.
'Essence...'
She summoned the symbols and looked at how much she had.
Essence: 126/2000
Vigor: 68%
She frowned and dismissed them, unsatisfied. The creatures she had mostly killed were the weakest in the hierarchy, and so they did not have much Essence to spare. If she wanted to absorb large amounts, she would have to start killing higher tiered Chaos Creatures.
She passed through the horde of abominations, and headed deeper inside the cave. It was not only huge inside, but it was also not dark inside, despite supposedly being underground. It was not exactly bright either, but it was as clear as day.
She met more creatures along the way, but dealt with them without even moving a finger. She left them frozen in place and continued advancing further. After a long time, the labyrinth she was transversing opened to a grandiose chamber, with a ceiling reaching into the sky.
But that was not what caught her attention at all.
At the center of the chamber, sat two bloodied figures on the floor, surrounded by dozens of Chaos Creatures.