Abyssal (ManxMan)

Laboratory

Hey guys, I'm back! I'm sorry for disappearing. I ended up getting a somewhat strong case of Covid-19 that admitted me into the hospital for a week. I'm doing much better now, but the recovery is a bit slow. I still have a few lingering side-effects, but I'm sure I'll get through them. I've decided to start uploading again because I felt bad for leaving you all hanging, and because I need the mental exercise (Covid sometimes leaves you fog-minded). Hopefully, the posting schedule will be regular from this point on. Wish me luck!

Laboratory

"He's a child?" I blurted, shocked.

The child, Erasmus, looked at Kai and his purple eyes lit up with what looked to be recognition.

"Kaerus!"

Erasmus threw himself onto Kai and wrapped his little arms around Kai's torso -or at least tried.

Kai froze, unsure what to do.

He'd called him Kaerus, his father's name. Did he really look that much like this father?

"Umm..." He looked to Ryodan for help, but found him looking strangely at him. Ryodan too saw the resemblance, it seemed.

Ryodan's face abruptly hardened. In a hard voice, "Erasmus, he's not Kaerus. Kaerus is dead."

Kai felt Erasmus stiffen right before he released him and stepped away from him, his bangs falling to conceal his face from view. Wordlessly, he turned and entered his house, leaving the door open.

"Come." Ryodan beckoned as he followed Erasmus inside.

Kai stood at the threshold for a moment as he contemplated what just happened. It seemed that Erasmus was indeed well-acquainted with his father. But how could he not know that his father was long dead? Exactly how long had he been living in this cave? Long enough for the news to have not reached him?

"Kai." Ryodan called.

"Coming." He stepped into the house to find that it was no mesely cave hut, but a giant mansion, and he was standing right in the solar room. Kai was caught off guard, feeling slightly disoriented. "Did I just walk through another portal?" he asked Ryodan.

"No, this is an illusion."

"Another spell?" Kai asked as he stared up at the high ceiling. He carefully took in his surroundings. A blue fire crackled in a giant hearth, casting a bluish hue across the spacious room.

"Yes."

He wondered just how merfolk came to possess magic, and how powerful a merman had to be to create portals and conjure these illusions and magical detectors. Was it an innate ability they were all born with? Or was it something they learned and harnessed over time?

He remembered that Marius had also used magic to teleport him to Nostrazia, opening the portal in the tunnel. Something told him that someone as powerful and capable as Marius had more tricks up his sleeve -or gold arm braces as it were.

Secretly, he wondered if he too could perform these spells. Already he was the vessel to a god-like entity, and he was half-merman, whether he liked it or not. So, could he do magic?

Ryodan took Kai's hand, startling Kai out of his musings, and said, "We need to hurry; we don't want to risk being discovered."

Though Kai didn't particularly like the skin-to-skin contact, he forced himself to stay quiet for the time being. They really were running out of time. By his estimation, they had a few hours left before the maids came to light the jellyfish and rouse him. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if they found his bed empty.